


Work (It) Out

by villanellesgun



Category: Killing Eve (TV 2018)
Genre: ANGST!!!, AU, Alternate Universe, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, Gym Owner!Villanelle, Gym owner, Old Friends?, Professor!Eve, Professors, Slow Burn, alternative universe, another slow burn i'm sorry, eve with glasses, i don't know how to run a gym so stick with me, in london (again), yearning!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:40:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 31,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25536730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/villanellesgun/pseuds/villanellesgun
Summary: Villanelle owns a gym and Eve is a criminology professor. They haven't seen or heard from each other in 8 years.But when Elena brings Eve to a new spin class, the brunette is surprised when she sees an all-too-familiar face.
Relationships: Anna Leonova/Villanelle | Oksana Astankova, Eve Polastri/Villanelle | Oksana Astankova
Comments: 188
Kudos: 436





	1. I Owe U

**Author's Note:**

> hi! yes, i'm writing another AU :) this idea popped into my mind the other day and i really wanted to write it.  
> also, i love the idea of eve being a professor & the friends-enemies-lovers trope is just *chefs kiss*. hopefully, i do it justice.  
> enjoy and lemme know what you think!

**Chapter 1**

Eve only had classes Monday mornings, Wednesday at noon, and Friday evenings. She despised the Monday classes. She liked her students, or at least she said that she did, but she could barely wake up _that_ early in the morning. How did the students do it? Eve never understood. 

She was walking to Imperial College London when she got a text from Elena, her graduate teaching assistant. However, outside the classroom, she was her best friend. It was uncommon for a professor and teaching assistant to be friends, let alone best friends, but they worked oddly well. Elena was very smart and would help Eve by facilitating the student’s discussions (which happened on Tuesdays and Thursdays). She would let Eve know what students were struggling with and then the brunette would incorporate those into her next lecture. Let’s just say, they made a good team and the students loved them.

**_Elena_ ** _: i set up ur powerpoint and got u a croissant & coffee. but u owe me ;) _

The brunette sighed. She was the best assistant she could ask for. However, it did worry her about what she could ‘owe’ the other woman. She was… a lot more outgoing than Eve. The brunette had been more unreserved when she was at Uni, but it had backfired on her. She’d lost one of her best friends because of it. She wasn’t dead, or Eve didn’t think she was, but she hadn’t seen or heard from her in 8 years.

So, Eve had become more introverted when it came to her social life. She liked it, her assistant didn’t. 

Elena would always badger her to go out or to do something that the brunette found crazy and reckless. She’d always say no, claiming she had work to do. Which was a dumb excuse, if I’m being honest. Elena was _her_ assistant, she obviously knew what work the professor had and didn’t have. Still, she knew she couldn’t force Eve to go out. She’d wait until Eve actually _wanted_ to go somewhere with her.

She walked down the hall and into her office, where she grabbed papers for today’s lecture, took off her grey raincoat, and set it on the coat hanger. Eve was walking down the hall, well actually it was more of a jog, to the lecture room. She was late. She clambered in, meeting the eyes of 50 undergraduate students… and Elena.

“Morning, everyone,” Eve panted, walking over to the desk, dropping her bag and taking the coffee from her assistant’s hand, “I heard from Elena that you had some trouble with some parts of the last lecture. So, today we’ll be focusing on the social factors that lead to criminal behavior.” She started up the PowerPoint, quickly looking down at her notes.

“Let’s pay attention this time!” Her assistant chimed, sitting on one of the chairs in the front, receiving a few laughs from some of the students.

“Now, who can tell me why parental behaviors play a strong role in shaping a child's risk of later involvement in criminality?” 

\----------

The class ended with only a few questions. Hopefully, the students understood the PowerPoint this time. Eve didn’t want to go through it again. 

She and Elena were on their way back from the cafeteria to the teacher’s lounge for lunch. Usually, teaching assistants wouldn’t be allowed in there, but Elena was very well-liked. None of the other professors minded her being in there. Actually, they _wanted_ her there. She was bubbly, made funny jokes, and was genuinely very smart. Good company. 

“Eve, wanna go to this new spin class with me?” She asked as she stuffed the rest of her sandwich into her mouth, “It’s supposed to be really good.”

“Spin class?” The brunette had her glasses on, reading a few of her student’s most recent papers. She didn’t look up at her assistant. “Why would I want to do that?”

“Because it’s a good workout. I saw you when you came into class this morning, you were panting after a short jog down the hall,” She snickered, “And it’s a new gym by here. We should see what it’s like.”

“Okay, 1,” She took off her glasses and looked across the couch to her assistant, “I was not _panting,_ I was just… breathing heavily. You know, because your heart is pumping faster and needs more oxygen. And, 2, why do we need to go to a new gym?” She set the papers down on the coffee table in front of her and started to finish her salad.

“You _were_ panting. And why not? It could be the most amazing gym ever, and you never know, maybe we could meet people there,” She started to mumble, knowing Eve didn’t want to hear this, “Maybe _you_ could meet someone there.”

“Elena...”

Eve had just gone through a divorce. Or well, _was_ going through a divorce. Her and Niko had been separated for quite some time now but when it came to divorce in the UK… it was taking some time to become official. 

The professor told her assistant about it when it happened. She and Niko had a fight and he yelled ‘I want a divorce!’ And that was that. She didn’t like thinking about the details or what had led up to that fight. It wasn’t necessary. 

However, Elena did let her stay at her place for a few weeks before she found an apartment. It was very small but very close to the University. It was fine. 

But, Eve didn’t want to meet anyone new. She wasn’t over Niko. But, she wasn’t _not_ over him. Either way, it was just too soon. And, who would she even meet? She refused to think of any other professors that way. She didn’t even like most of them as friends. 

Her only friend, that was a professor, was Bill. He was one of the best English professors in London. They had gotten close as they both joined the Imperial teaching staff at about the same time. He had a very different class schedule to her, but they saw each other outside of work very often. He, his wife, and his daughter lived close to the University as well. He knew about Eve’s divorce and _he_ was not pressuring her to meet anyone new. So, in Eve’s book, he was a very good friend right now.

“I know you said you don’t want to meet anyone knew or you’re not ready to or whatever,” Elena sat forward, “But it might be nice. You know… help you forget about him?”

“I do not want to meet anyone new. Okay?” Eve got up, took her papers, and left. She wasn’t actually mad at Elena, but she didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Leaving the room was just easiest.

\----------------

“Oh. My. God. Eve!” Her assistant ran up to her as she walked into the lecture hall. It was time for her Wednesday class.

“Morning, or well,” Eve checked the time on her phone, “Afternoon. What’s got you all,” she gestured toward the woman who was bouncing up and down, “Like this?”

“That spin class! I went yesterday and oh my god, it was amazing. The gym itself was like… pretty. Which is weird, right? But the class was so good. And,” She leaned in toward Eve as the professor sat in her desk chair (they were both early), “The teacher of the class was really hot.” 

“Did you just go to see hot guys that teach spin classes with their shirts off?” The brunette smirked, knowing Elena’s usual antics.

“Well, the teacher was a woman. But,” She grinned, looking into the distance as if to imagine it, “There _were_ a lot of hot guys there, now that you mention it.”

“Oh, well that’s just great.”

“You really should come, Eve. Even if you don’t meet anyone there, it might be nice to blow off some steam. Also, you owe me.” She winked, the brunette should’ve known when Elena said ‘you owe me’, she meant it. 

But to be fair, Eve had been stressed lately. Carolyn Martens, the dean of the University, had been putting her under a lot of pressure. She said she wanted to promote Eve to head of Psychology, but this meant Carolyn was watching her a bit _too_ closely. The brunette didn’t like that. Obviously, she wanted the promotion, she’d get more time off and more time to focus on research, but it was stressful to be in direct competition with some of her colleagues.

“Okay maybe, when’s the next class?” She asked, as a few students started to trickle into the room.

“Tonight. At 5,” Elena beamed, “I could buy you dinner afterward?” She really wanted her friend to come to this class for absolutely no specific reason.

“Fine. What’s the gym called?” Eve opened her calendar app. Don’t judge her, she liked to know what she had in advance and note down any new plans. 

“V’s gym, it’s not too far from here.”

“Okay, fine. But now… time for class.” Eve stood up, looking at the students who were all starting to sit down and open their laptops.

“So who wants to summarize what we covered on Monday for the rest of the class?” The professor asked the room.

\---------------

Villanelle loved to exercise. She hadn’t always. Her love for it started when she dropped out of University. It was… a rough time for her. And exercise, running especially, always calmed her down. She dropped out during her first year because of a girl. Yes, a girl. A girl who completely shattered her heart. The blonde didn’t like it when other people as this much of an effect on her. So much so that she literally dropped out of University and moved to Paris. Yes, it was _that_ bad. The worst part of it was, it wasn’t even a breakup. They had never dated. Still, the heartbreak was just as bad. It was worse than Anna, someone she didn’t even think of anymore.

Russia was so far behind her. She moved to London at the end of her sophomore year of high school, leaving Anna and Moscow as fast as she could. When Anna ‘broke up’ with her, she couldn’t stay there anymore. She couldn’t look at that woman every day, learning French or English or whatever language she took up to see her. It was too hard. Also, her father was an asshole. So, when she heard that Konstantin was moving to London with his daughter, she joined them. Konstantin was her savior, not that she’d ever tell him that. He was her father’s ex-best friend and she considered this man more of a father to her than her own. 

When she completed high school in London, mostly through online classes, she applied and got accepted to Imperial College London. That’s where she met _her._ She couldn’t even say her name. It would get her to…feel things. It was weird for someone to have this much power over her emotions. It’d never happened before, not even with Anna. Sure, she _thought_ she was heartbroken when Anna broke up with her, but she was 16-years-old. If anyone had broken up with her, she would’ve been emotional. Retrospectively, she knew it wasn’t an actual heartbreak.

Over the past couple of years, she had learned to not care about anyone else. Other than Konstantin and Irina. She didn’t let anyone else in. When she wanted something, she made them _think_ they were getting to know her, and then once she got what she wanted, she’d never speak to them again. She never saw a problem with this.

So, when Villanelle met _her_ during her first year at Uni, the blonde didn’t expect it to feel anything. However, she did. She fell for her… hard. This woman was much older than her as the blonde was only 17 when she started at Imperial. Yes, she was young, but she was too smart for her own good and sped through her online classes to get her diploma. Imperial was very impressed with her.

The woman she met was currently getting her Ph.D. to become a professor. Villanelle admired that profession, she respected those who would spend time shaping the minds of University students, as they were the ones that were actually about to be sent off into the real world. 

But, once _everything_ happened, she didn’t respect her anymore. She _hated_ her. She never wanted to see her again. So, she left Imperial, she left London. She went to Paris, the City of Love. She even changed her name. She wanted to be someone else.

Konstantin didn’t mind. Obviously, he _cared,_ but he understood what was happening with the blonde. While she didn’t tell him everything, he trusted her. Konstantin and Irina would visit her from time to time and he’d send Villanelle money when she needed it because he trusted her. She sometimes made stupid decisions, but he trusted her, regardless. The blonde was like a second daughter to him. 

Villanelle had hoped she’d meet someone in Paris that would help her forget about _her._ She didn’t. She met plenty of women, she slept with plenty of women. None made her forget about that woman from London. 

That’s when she discovered exercise. I mean, she knew about the concept of course, but she was never heavily interested. But when she starting running around Paris, sweating, panting, building endurance, she immediately felt better. She didn’t understand why. Granted, she then researched it. She found out about endorphins and how they were released during exercise. 

Stress and pain were the two most common factors leading to the release of endorphins. She had stress and she had emotional pain. That was the same as physical pain, right? Endorphins interacted with the opiate receptors in our brains to reduce our perception of pain and act similarly to drugs such as morphine and codeine. 

Endorphins were literally a drug. And she was hooked. She started exercising for most of the day. Strength training, cardio, aerobic, anaerobic, all of it. Every type of exercise you could think of, she did it. Eventually, she even landed a job at a gym. It wasn’t as exciting as she thought it’d be since she had to help others with _their_ workouts and not her own. But, she still got to be in the environment she loved.

As you can probably guess, she became _very fit._ As you do when you exercise 24/7. And as she got older, she got the attention of even more women (and men). So, she entertained them (the women, not the men). She even dated a few of them for short periods of time. Until she got bored. None of them really kept her interest for more than a few months. 

8 years went by. And after many discussions, she returned to London. She wasn’t _bored_ of Paris, but she’d done pretty much everything there was to do. And she missed Konstantin. They only saw each other in person a few times a year, and she knew she’d feel better if she was back to living in the same city as him. She missed Irina, too. Even though they fought like they were actually siblings, they loved each other like actual siblings too. She was starting high school and the blonde wanted to be there for her. She knew how shitty high school was. Irina would need her.

When she returned, she told Konstantin about her dream. To open her own gym. She didn’t want to have a boss and she didn’t want to do any low-grade work. Not that anyone did, but Villanelle was very adamant about _not_ doing it. The older man loved this idea. The blonde had no idea what his job involved, as he was oddly secretive about it, but he was very good with business. 

So, he helped her open up V’s gym. And in the first week, it did extraordinarily well. Konstantin was kind of a genius when it came to this stuff. He found a small two-floor building, one floor being the gym and the top being Villanelle’s apartment. She literally lived at her job. 

It was in central London, in an area where there were plenty of Uni students and business people. All needing a gym, all not wanting to go far to get to one. So V’s gym was perfect. Not too far from their work so they could come whenever they were free. Villanelle was actually happy for the first time in her whole life. Everything in Russia was shitty, everything in London _had_ been shitty, but now here she was. Her own boss, on her own schedule, doing what she loved every day.

And after 8 years, she pretty much forgot about the woman she had met in London. Once in awhile, she’d see dark curls that were similar to hers and she’d float back into her mind momentarily. But that was it. She didn’t feel any _emotions_ about her anymore. 

Except when she saw _her_ in one of her spin classes, her heart stopped. It was those same curls, that same laugh, that same everything. It was Eve. And all those emotions from 8 years ago came flooding back.


	2. I Have A Thing For Bathrooms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eve and Elena attend Villanelle's spin class...

**Chapter 2**

Eve finished her class and the rest of her work for the day. It was getting closer to 5 and she was starting to get nervous. She didn’t know why. It was just a spin class. Maybe it was because she hadn’t done an exercise class in… well, she’s never done a formal exercise class. She didn’t really _enjoy_ working out. She usually never had time for it and when she did, she stopped after about 15 minutes. She never felt productive because she would just start thinking about what she could be doing _instead_ of exercising.

When Elena had suggested a spin class, she wasn’t up for it. And then when Elena suggested that she meet someone at said class, she  _ really _ wasn’t on-board. But, Eve had studied biology. She knew the endorphins would calm her down and relieve her of the stress she’d been feeling lately. Between Carolyn and Niko, she was  _ very _ stressed. Maybe, just maybe, a spin class might help.

She went home, changed into black sweatpants and an old grey t-shirt. She didn’t think she needed to ‘look good’ for a spin class since she was going to end up sweaty either way. But, when she saw Elena wearing a cute baby blue sports bra and matching leggings, she regretted her choice in clothing. Her assistant was obviously in good shape, she did go to spin classes after all, and Eve was... well, Elena wasn’t exactly wrong when she said the professor had been panting after jogging down one hallway. She didn’t have the highest stamina, okay?

Eve hoped this class would help that, and once it did, that would be that. She didn’t  _ need _ a gym membership and Elena had mentioned that the first three classes were free so you could try out the gym and its facilities. So, she thought, why the fuck not?

It was an average looking building and Eve thought it was quite small for a gym. But when they walked in, the professor understood what Elena had meant when she said this gym was ‘pretty’. 

As they entered, they were met with a young man at a front desk. To the left, there was a large open room, filled with exercise machines. A row of treadmills, a few ellipticals, some upright bikes, and even a boxing bag. There were black mats set down in front of a wall with mirrors on the other side of the room, next to a rack of weights and exercise balls in varying sizes.

It was… pretty. Eve would never have thought a gym was anything other than a gym, but it was very modern and sleek. There was color, but not too much. There were people working out, but not too many. Everyone had their own space to exercise. Eve appreciated that. One thing she  _ hated _ about gyms was being too close to another sweaty person. There was also Beyoncé playing the background through the speaker system, so she approved of this gym and whoever curated this playlist. 

“Hi, how are you ladies doing today?” The young man said, looking up at the two women, “Oh hey, Elena what’s up?”

Elena had been here once. Once. How did she have time to make friends with this man? 

“Hugo,” She nodded toward the brunette, “This is my friend, Eve. We’re here for the spin class with Villanelle.”

“Ooo Villanelle, she’s popular.” Hugo, Eve now knew his name, smirked. 

Villanelle was an odd name, the professor thought. Unique. Very unusual.

“Well, she is the owner,” Elena smiled, as Hugo typed on his computer, Eve presumed to check them into the class, “I’d hope she’s popular.” 

“You both can go into the locker rooms that way,” He gestured to the right and down a small hallway, “To drop your stuff and then the spin rooms are that way.” He pointed to his left, down another, slightly bigger, hallway.

“Thanks, Hugo,” Elena started heading left, toward the locker rooms.

“You two seem,” The professor started as they walked down the hall, “Friendly.”

“Eve, I am a very friendly person,” The assistant opened the locker room door for the brunette, “What can I say?”

The locker room was also nice. It was clean and attractive (for a locker room), similar to the main exercise room. It had white lockers against the wall, with a few wooden benches in front of them. There was an adjoining room, filled with toilet stalls, showers, and sinks. There were a few other women in the room, some sitting on the benches, some changing to their sportswear.

Eve’s eyes were drawn to a blonde who was looking through one of the lockers. She had large rose-gold beats headphones on. She was wearing a maroon sports bra and matching leggings that accentuated every part of her. And Eve couldn’t help but notice that her body was….dare she say it, perfect. She must be a regular here. Or a regular at any gym. She was in  _ great  _ shape. Her eyes were obviously on this woman’s back for too long because she got a look from Elena.

They didn’t say anything else, just picked two lockers and put their bags in there. They walked out and Eve felt an urge to look back at that blonde, who was now sitting on a wooden bench, her back still toward the professor. She felt… familiar, for some reason. Like she’d seen her somewhere before. But Eve shook her head, how could she know that from someone’s back?

They walked back out to the front desk, Hugo smiling at them, and went toward the spin rooms. There were a few women and men waiting outside one of the rooms, so Eve assumed that was the one they were supposed to go in. The whole gym was a lot bigger than it looked on the outside. The brunette found out it contained 4 different exercise rooms, some for spin classes, some for yoga, and some for kickboxing. Impressive.

Everyone started to walk into the room which was filled with 17 stationary bikes, 1 in the front, facing the rest. It was a bright room, brighter than Eve expected, with dark wooden floors and mirrored walls. Eve and Elena settled in the middle of the back row. The professor said she didn’t want to be in the front because she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep up with the instructor and she didn’t want to be embarrassed. You know how it is.

She was fixing her hair up into a bun when she heard the door open again. The 16 bikes had been filled up so she assumed it was the instructor. The mysterious  _ Villanelle _ .

“Hello, ladies,” Villanelle looked at the small crowd, noticing there were actually a few men today, “And gentlemen. How are we doing today?”

There were a couple mumbles from the crowd, an enthusiastic ‘great’ from Elena, and nothing from Eve. Because she heard  _ that  _ accent. Russian. She hadn’t heard that accent in years. 

When she looked up, it was the blonde from the locker room. She could tell by the maroon outfit. It was also the best friend she thought she’d never see again. It was Oksana Astankova. But, it wasn’t. It was Villanelle. Or that was what the instructor’s name was. 

Eve couldn’t believe her eyes. She blinked a few times, but the sight didn’t change. She looked up and saw  _ her _ , older, but it was  _ her _ . More muscular, a little taller, still gorgeous. She was just as beautiful as Eve remembered. 

But as she remembered, she recalled  _ everything.  _ Everything that had happened between them. She wanted to be happy to see the other woman, but she couldn’t make herself feel that. Not after everything. But, she couldn’t take her eyes away. 

What was she doing here? She had never shown an interest in owning a gym or living in London. Had she been here this whole time? All those years, had they had been living in the same city the whole time? Eve needed to know. She never thought she’d see her again, she’d  _ imagined _ it of course, but here she actually was. On an exercise bike. 

“I’m Villanelle, for those who don’t know,” She looked around, but she hadn’t seen Eve yet since there was a tall man on the bike in front of the brunette, “Today’s going to be a hard class. So let’s start, everyone get into position one and start pedaling.” She sits fully on the bike and music starts to play from the speakers. Eve didn’t even process how loud the music was because her thoughts were much louder.

“Now,” The blonde says after a few seconds, “Position two.” She stands, still pedaling on the bike, but slightly faster. As she stands, she sees her. The curls, while in a bun, she knows they’re  _ hers. _

She freezes, she can’t help it. A few people in the front gave her a confused look, questioning why she stopped, but everyone continued pedaling in position two. 

Eve looked older, but she was still just as stunning as when Villanelle first saw her. She wondered, was she still married? Had she become a professor after all? Was she with someone here? How did she hear about this gym? Did she know it was her’s? Did she recognize her?

Her last question was answered pretty quickly because the brunette was looking right at her, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. She wasn’t pedaling either. 

“Oksana?” Eve mouthed as she furrowed her brows, knowing that the blonde, whatever her name was, couldn’t hear her.

Villanelle hadn’t heard that name in 8 years. Well, she didn’t  _ hear  _ Eve as the music, now Rihanna’s ‘Don’t Stop The Music’, was playing very loudly, but she knew exactly what she had said. The blonde forced herself to look down and continue biking.

“Now position three!” She leaned forward, elbows on the handlebars, pedaling as hard as she could. She kept pedaling until all she could think about was the pain in her thighs and not the woman who she fell in love with all those years ago.

\--------------

The class was only an hour. But for Eve, it felt like a lifetime. She was sweaty, as she guessed, but she was very dizzy. She had been thinking about Villanelle the entire time. Sure, the blonde had creeped into her mind every once in a while over the past 8 years, but this was different. 

Eve knew her favorite flavor of ice cream was mint chocolate chip so when she saw that at Tesco, she thought of Villanelle briefly. Eve knew that she could speak 5 languages (other than English) fluently, so when she heard someone speak either French, Russian, Spanish, Italian, or German, she thought about the blonde momentarily. Eve also knew about how shitty the blonde’s childhood was, so when the brunette was giving that lecture the other day…. about a parent’s effect on childhood… she had  _ definitely _ thought of Villanelle.

Except, the blonde was right in front of her now, stepping off the bike and thanking everyone for coming. Elena was staring at Eve since she was still sitting on the bike, staring at the instructor, who was now talking to a woman from the class.

“Eve, what’s wrong?” She asked as she wiped a towel on her forehead.

“I…. I’m fine. Just,” The brunette finally stepped off the bike, taking a towel to the back of her neck, “Just tired.” She smiled at her friend, trying to reassure her that everything was fine when everything was  _ not  _ fine.

“Okay, still down to grab a bite? There’s a bar down the street.”

“Yeah, let’s do it.” She needed something to take her mind off the blonde. The blonde she was about to pass through the doorway.

Villanelle was talking to Nadia, who was  _ obviously  _ flirting with her. She hired her a few days ago since she needed more employees. But she didn’t stop flirting with her. It got on Villanelle’s nerves. Still, she continued to speak with her, trying to find an excuse to avoid Eve as she walked out. She was with… Elena. Eve was Elena’s friend? 

The blonde met Elena the other day and they got on quickly. Obviously, they didn’t know each other  _ that  _ well but they could see both of them were very straight-forward and brutally honest. Elena had mentioned to the instructor that she wanted to bring a friend to her next class and Villanelle encouraged this. The more business, the better. 

“Villanelle,” Elena, completely oblivious, went up to the blonde who was now looking at her (and not at Eve), “Great class! I loved the music.”

“Oh why thank you, Elena,” She struggled not to look at Eve who was (not so subtly) hiding behind her friend, “I try my best.” She winked, attempting to put on her usual confident appearance.

“This is my friend, Eve,” She gestured to the professor, whose face was starting to go red, as Villanelle held her hand out.

What the fuck was happening?

This wasn’t Villanelle. Who was Villanelle? This was Oksana. This was the person who made Eve feel  _ seen.  _ When Niko was getting on her nerves, she’d go to Villanelle’s dorm and the blonde would instantly make her feel better. This was the person who made her feel like she could be a great professor. Like she could actually help people. This was Oksana, the first woman who made Eve feel… well, she didn’t know  _ exactly  _ how she felt and that was the whole problem. 

Eve started to shake her hand. Oksana’s hand or Villanelle’s hand? She didn’t know. All she did know was that her hazel eyes were the same. She was looking straight into them.

“Hi, Eve. Did you enjoy the class?” She asked, as if she was genuinely meeting this woman for this first time. She hoped her voice didn’t break when she asked this, the blonde was genuinely scared for the first time in years. 

“I- I…” The brunette was still holding her hand which, to anyone else, would seem very weird. And it was. But Eve needed to know if she was crazy. Was this her? Or was it her doppelgänger who looked  _ exactly  _ like her? Eve thought if she held onto this woman’s hand long enough she’d know. It didn’t work, it just made her look a bit creepy. She quickly let go when Elena cleared her throat.

“I think she enjoyed it, you seem very focused because you didn’t even hear me when I was talking to you toward the end, did you?” 

“Oh yeah,” Eve stepped out of her trance when she looked back at her friend who was giving her the weirdest look, “I had a lot of fun, Villanelle.” She added the name for effect. She wanted to see how the blonde reacted, but she didn’t seem phased. As if it was her actual name. 

“I’m Nadia, by the way,” The woman Villanelle-Oksana had been talking to held her hand out to the professor, “I work here part-time, I do a few of the yoga and spin classes.”

Eve was able to shake this girl’s hand without it being weird. She wasn’t the one that had walked out on her and not heard from in 8 years.

“Well, we gotta go, don’t we Eve?” Elena nudged her friend, who was looking back at Villanelle. 

The blonde refused to make eye contact anymore. She had for a few seconds and it was overwhelming. Villanelle was fiddling with the hem of her leggings, hoping the brunette would leave and she could forget this ever happened. She didn’t want to see her. She definitely didn’t want to pretend to be nice to her, so she was going to act as if she were just another person in her spin class. Except, she wasn’t. She’d never be  _ just _ another person in her spin class.

“Right, yes,” They both turned toward the door, Elena waving goodbye to Nadia and Villanelle, and headed to the locker rooms. Eve looked back at the blonde, who was looking right at her now. She was sure it was the same hazel eyes. It had to be.

“Do you know her?” Elena asked as they grabbed their stuff from the locker, “It seemed like you’d seen her before or something.”

“Or something.” Was all Eve said before telling her she was running to the bathroom and she’d meet her in front.

While Eve was in the stall, Villanelle went into the bathroom. She was hyperventilating. She had never expected this. She hadn’t expected Eve to still be in London. Well, she knew it was probable, but you could be a professor anywhere. Also, London was  _ huge.  _ Not only was Villanelle not thinking about Eve when she moved back, she truly never thought she’d run into her in a city this big. It wasn’t fate, it wasn’t destiny. It was the Universe being a little bitch. Or it was karma for the shit she’d done in the past. It had to be.

The blonde was at one of the sinks, throwing water onto her face, when Eve stepped out of the stall. The brunette froze. Villanelle stood up straight, instantly meeting eyes with the professor in the mirror.

“Eve, hi.” She croaked while drying her face, still trying to put up the act that today was the first day she’d never met this woman.

Eve couldn’t understand the blonde. She’d known her so well before but now she was… this.

Why was she doing this? Why was she pretending they’d never met? They’d never been friends? They’d never….

_ Why was she doing this? _

“Hey,” The brunette mumbled and stepped to a sink a few down from where the blonde was still standing. They looked at each for a moment, before Eve faced down to wash her hands. Villanelle was staring, she couldn’t help it. It was like seeing a ghost… or an angel. You couldn’t  _ not  _ look. 

When the brunette was finishing, the blonde realized she’d been standing there for a bit  _ too  _ long. She turned on her heel, grabbing a paper towel to dry her hands by the door. It was now Eve’s turn to look at her. She also couldn’t believe it. She had really thought the last time she would see this woman was when she left her old apartment 8 years ago.

When Villanelle threw the paper towel in the bin, she turned to open the door to leave. Eve couldn’t hold it in anymore. This was Oksana. This was her best friend. Ex-best friend. This wasn’t Villanelle.

“Oksana!” She blurted out, the blonde’s hand on the doorknob.

Villanelle froze. Now she’d been called  _ that _ name to her face for the first time in 8 years. She couldn’t ignore it now. 

She turned the latch, locking the door from the inside, and turned to face Eve.

  
“How have you been, Eve? It’s been  _ such _ a long time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for the love on this story already! i'm so excited to continue to write so when i finished this chapter, i knew i needed to upload for you guys.
> 
> love you!
> 
> kira x


	3. Karma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eve and Villanelle yell at each other. Eve and Elena go to a bar. Villanelle punches out her anger.

**Chapter 3**

“To be quite honest with you, I’m really fucking confused,” Eve sighed and leaned her hip onto the side of the sink, “And angry.”

“And what are you confused about, Eve?” She stepped forward, clenching her jaw, looking directly at the brunette. She hadn’t said her name in years, so she had some catching up to do. It rolled right off her tongue. 

“You- Your name. Oksana, Villanelle…” She threw her hands up and down, exasperated, “I don’t get it.”

“It’s simple,” Villanelle took another step, starting to close the distance, “I changed my name.” 

As she got closer, she realized she missed being close to the other woman. She was seeing her features up close again, her eyes, her mouth, her hair. She didn’t like feeling this way again. She was over her. Or so she thought she was.

“Yeah I got that part,” She laughed, but not because she found the other woman funny, “But  _ why _ ?” 

It annoyed Eve how much she still cared about Oksana. Or Villanelle or whatever her name was. She wanted to know what she was doing now, why she was doing it, who she was doing it with. She wanted to know everything. But she was still mad at her. She had left her all those years ago. Eve was feeling  _ a lot _ of things right now.

“I’m not,” She hated saying this name, “Oksana anymore.” Enough said. Why was Eve pushing her? It was angering.

“But why? Why aren’t you Oksana anymore? What changed? I just don’t understand.”

“You, Eve! It was you!  _ You _ changed,” She was in the brunette’s face now, yelling and throwing her hands in the air, “After you…I wasn’t Oksana anymore. I didn’t want to be. I couldn’t be.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Eve was yelling too, she almost never did but if Villanelle was going to say it was  _ her _ fault she changed her name or that  _ she  _ had changed, she wasn’t going to stand for it. “You were the one that left! You, not me. I stayed….I- I tried.”

Villanelle let out a bark of a laugh.

“You think you  _ tried? _ That is rich, Eve,” She was looking down at her now, into those familiar brown eyes, “I may have left, but you  _ definitely _ didn’t try.”

“Where did you go?” She asked after a moment of looking into hazel eyes.

It just came out. The brunette wanted to know so much that she didn’t even register what the blonde had said to her. Eve thought she had tried since  _ she _ wasn’t the one that walked away. Villanelle broke her heart when she left. Eve wanted to know where she went.

“What?” The blonde shook her head and stepped back, confused by the question.

“I assume you weren’t in London this whole time since the gym is new,” She gestured around, almost forgetting about where they were, “So, where did you go?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Villanelle headed for the door. 

She couldn’t keep speaking to Eve. She was starting to…. feel. She didn’t feel anymore. She had  _ perfected  _ not being able to feel. That was all Eve’s fault, anyway. The blonde had to work for  _ years _ to get this way and she wasn’t going to let the brunette destroy all her work. Because, right now, all she was thinking about was how happy she was when she was around Eve and how heartbroken she was when she had to leave.

“Well, what does matter,  _ Villanelle _ ? Obviously, I don’t because all you keep doing is leaving me.” She gestured toward the door that the blonde was now standing in front of. 

She didn’t mean for it to sound so relationship-y. But, she  _ had _ left her. It wasn’t false, it just wasn’t in the relationship, girlfriend way. It really hurt, nonetheless.

“Are you serious?!” She turned on her heel, quickly stomping up to the professor. “ _ You _ were all the mattered Eve... and when I tried to tell you that, you...” Her voice cracked at the end so she didn’t continue.

“It was complicated...” The brunette stepped away and looked down at the floor. She remembered the piercing effect Oksana’s eyes had on her.

“Complicated,” She nodded and pursed her lips, Eve used the same word 8 years ago, “What matters, Eve,” Finally getting back to the brunette’s question, “Is that I don’t want to see you here again.” 

“You’re kicking me out of your gym?” Eve laughed, she couldn’t believe this was happening.  _ She  _ was kicking  _ her  _ out. What a turn of events.

“No, I refuse to kick anyone out. But, I do not want to see you again. So,” She turned her body, allowing Eve to move past her. “If you don’t mind.”

“I can’t believe this.” The brunette muttered, her legs carrying her out the door and to the front of the gym, where she saw Elena waiting for her. 

\----------------

It was an average bar, nothing special. But that was exactly what Eve wanted. She and Elena sat down at the bar and ordered a few drinks. The brunette didn’t have a class tomorrow and while she did have some papers to grade, she really needed this drink.

She was furious, and why wouldn’t she be? Oksana, or Villanelle, had just come stumbling back into her life after leaving 8 years ago and then had the audacity to yell at her. And to say that Eve hadn’t tried in their friendship. 

And that’s all it was, a friendship. 

It felt like something more, to both of the women, but that’s  _ all _ they had been. Friends. Some may say best friends. And when a best friend says they’re in love with you and have been since the moment they met you…. Well, that complicated things for Eve. But she had stayed, she _ tried  _ to make it work. It was the blonde who had run off to god knows where. So, how dare she say Eve hadn’t tried. She left. Not Eve.

“So… Eve,” Elena started tentatively, she knew something was wrong. Eve never came to bars with her and if she did, she never drank, and the brunette had already downed two shots, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” She called the bartender for more vodka.

“Eve.” She downed her third shot.

“Professor Polastri!” Elena threw her hands on the bar top.

“It’s not Polastri anymore! Well, it is,” Eve quickly turned to her, angrily, “But not for long.”

“What the hell happened to you? I thought you enjoyed the class.”

“It wasn’t the class, Elena, it was,” She sighed, blaming the alcohol for the next part, “It was Villanelle.”

“I knew you’d find her hot!” She raised her arms triumphantly, “I know you’re into guys but she’s fit, isn’t she?”

“No, it’s not that, well yes she’s pretty but that’s not why I…” Eve didn’t really know the word. Why she was sad? Heartbroken? Confused?

“What is it, Eve? You can tell me anything. I’d bury a body for you, I hope you know that.”

She laughed, Eve appreciated having Elena in her life. Having someone considerate, kind, and funny. It was nice to have a friend she could truly count on.

“When I was getting my Ph.D., millions of years ago,” She smirked and Elena gave her a chuckle, “I met her. Villanelle. Except her name wasn’t Villanelle, it was Oksana. She was an undergrad at the time and she was…. I don’t know. Different? We met one day when I was assisting one of the psych professors at a lecture and she was in the class. The way she asked and answered questions…,” She looked up, picturing that day, “She was special. And we got along. She needed someone and I helped her, but she helped me too. Niko was….well, there were a lot of fights then. And Oks- Villanelle always knew what to say. We were best friends. And honestly, I was probably closer to her than I was to Niko but then, one day, we had a fight and I didn’t see or hear from her in 8 years. It was… it just didn’t make sense.” Eve raced through the last part of what had happened, she couldn’t talk about  _ that  _ day yet.

“Oh my god…” Her assistant said after a moment, looking into her glass.

“Yeah….” The professor was trying to gauge her reaction, had she said too much? Did Elena really need to hear all of this? Did she even care?

“I can’t believe you had a best friend before me,” Elena smirked and Eve opened her mouth to say something but her assistant cut her off, “I’m kidding. Of all the gyms in London, I’m shocked we went into hers. That’s some destiny shit right there.”

“No, it’s karma. Coming to bite me in the ass or something.” The brunette gritted, she hadn’t expressed how angry she was when recalling the story because she got caught up in the  _ happy _ parts of their relationship.

“You sound... mad.”

“I am!” Eve slapped her drink on the table, some spilling out and onto the wooden bar, “Sh- She said some things… and then left. No text, no call, no anything. She was my first real best friend and she just… left. It hurt so yeah, I’m still pissed about it.”

Elena put her hand on the professor’s back, she’d never seen her like this before. She knew whatever Villanelle did or said had affected Eve a lot. She knew about the beginning of Eve’s marriage too. The professor didn’t talk about it much, but Elena knew the marriage had never been great. She was happy the professor was finally getting out of it.

“I went to the bathroom and she was in there and you know what she said? She said  _ I _ hadn’t tried. Me? She left without a trace and  _ I _ didn’t try. I just can’t…” Eve shook her head, she was still in some state of shock.

“So, I’m guessing you don’t want to go to the two other spin classes, huh?” Elena said after a moment, trying to lighten the mood.

“She kinda kicked me out, anyways.” She shrugged, smiling at the madness of it all. It seemed surreal.

“Damn Eve, you obviously did a number on her.”

\---------------

Villanelle was punching. Hard.

Not a person, don’t worry. A boxing bag. 

It was late, and the gym had closed a little while ago. The biggest perk of owning your own gym is that you can get in and use it anytime, and that’s just what the blonde did. Usually, she’d make use of the weights or machines, but she needed to get her anger out. The best way to do that was by punching something, obviously. Well, her philosophy was to either ‘punch it out or fuck it out.’ It has worked pretty well for her so far.

She was so angry at Eve. How could Eve think she was in the right? She turned Villanelle down and broke her heart, not even caring about the blonde’s feelings. Of course, Villanelle had to leave. Their lives were so intertwined, they couldn’t just stop seeing each other. It wasn’t that simple. She had no other choice but to move from London. And she had forgotten about Eve, it took time but eventually, it had finally worked. But now all of that work was gone. Just like that.

She punched the bag until her body was dripping in sweat and she could already feel the bruises forming on her knuckles. She finally went upstairs to her apartment, showered, changed into pajamas, and tried to go to bed. She tried and tried and tried. But she couldn’t get her encounter with Eve out of her mind. 

_ ‘You were the one that left that night! You, not me. I stayed….I- I- tried.’ _

_ ‘It was complicated…’ _

_ ‘You’re kicking me out of your gym?’ _

Villanelle thought she had done the right thing by ‘kicking’ Eve out. She didn’t want to see her ever again. And she’d worked her ass off for this gym, so she wasn’t going to let Eve ruin it for her. But seeing her, talking to her, only for a few minutes... the brunette was all she could think about.

Maybe it actually was more complicated than the blonde had thought. Or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe she was still in love with Eve, maybe she wasn’t. Maybe Eve was thinking about her too. Maybe she wasn’t.

Okay, it was  _ definitely _ more complicated than Villanelle had thought. 

And, if you were wondering, neither of them got any sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys for your continued interest in this story! im slowly writing out the next few chapters so hang in there. but what do u think so far? any suggestions/concerns/comments? plz lemme know <3
> 
> kira x


	4. A Conundrum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eve avoids the topic of Villanelle, while the blonde starts to reminisce.

**Chapter 4**

It’d been a week since Eve had been to that bar. A week since she’d been in Villanelle’s gym. A week since she’d seen the blonde. However, it’d only been a few hours since she’d  _ thought  _ of the other woman. She was with Elena after their Wednesday class when they started talking about her _.  _ The professor knew her assistant had continued to go to Villanelle’s gym and she didn’t mind, as long as she didn’t talk about the blonde. Eve was trying not to think about her, and while it wasn’t working, she knew that talking about it with anyone would  _ really _ not help.

“Eve I have some news…” Elena grinned as they walked out of Imperial and to the sandwich shop across the street.

“Oh yeah? What is it?” The brunette was checking her emails as she listened.

“You remember V’s gym?” She nudged the professor, Eve now snapped up at her, suddenly intrigued, “Just kidding, I know you do. Well, I kinda met someone there...”

“Oh.” Eve didn’t really know what to think. Obviously, she was happy for her best friend but  _ a thought  _ did cross her mind. Villanelle. Elena mentioned she was hot, which yes Eve had to agree, but that wasn’t the point. She told herself she wouldn’t be jealous but… she knows if her assistant  _ were _ dating Villanelle, she would feel  _ something  _ about it.

“His name is Kenny. He works part-time at the gym, not as a personal trainer or anything,” The teaching assistant laughs thinking about Kenny as a trainer of anything, “You remember Hugo? He also does that job. Technology stuff.”

Eve nods, remembering Hugo more vividly than she’d like. She remembers that whole day more vividly than she’d like.

Elena felt bad for her friend. She knew the professor was struggling with this whole Villanelle-Oksana thing and she knew continuing to go to the gym wasn’t helping. Honestly, she just enjoyed the place’s atmosphere. She found Hugo annoying but occasionally funny, she found Kenny sweet and caring, obviously, and she couldn’t admit this to Eve, but she really liked Villanelle. Not in  _ that  _ way, don’t worry. She knew when women were hot, but she was interested in guys. She was interested in Kenny. Elena and him were so different but as they got to talking when she went to a class the other day, they just got on. 

Villanelle and her also got on. Elena enjoyed how much she didn’t care about pretty much anything. She also appreciated her determination, when it came to the gym and her own fitness routine. It was admirable. Elena couldn’t imagine working out every day for hours since she could barely do a class four or five times a week. Villanelle also knew how to have fun. They’d been to the bar together the other night and started talking. They didn’t discuss Eve as the blonde found it very easy to avoid  _ that _ topic and the assistant knew not to push. She saw how Eve had reacted when she asked about Villanelle, so who knows how the blonde would react when asked about Eve. They talked about their backgrounds, where they grew up, their education, and even past relationships. Again, the blonde avoided Eve. The professor made it clear to Elena that they’d never dated, but the assistant knew that Villanelle would avoid talking about her regardless. 

The blonde was funny, Elena found out. Her brash nature confused people, but Elena admired it. She hadn’t told Eve any of this, of course. She knew the blonde had hurt Eve all that time ago, but she could see that Villanelle was just as hurt. Regardless, she’d always choose Eve, if she had to. She just wished the two could make up from  _ whatever  _ happened between them so it would be less awkward. 

“Is he nice?” Eve asked as they sat down with their food.

“Yeah, he’s quite cute. Vill even said that he-” The assistant stopped herself when she looked up and saw Eve pause. A genuine mistake.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have…” Elena gestured with her hands, not really knowing what she did wrong exactly but she did know mentioning Villanelle to Eve wasn’t the best idea. The professor had avoided the topic for a reason, and Elena knew the reason. Eve had gotten drunk and told her what happened after all. They didn’t need to rehash any of it.

“It’s okay, you go to the gym so you see her and,” She sighed, she couldn’t be mad at her friend for just going to that gym. It wasn’t her fault that it was the blonde’s gym. “And that’s fine.” She tried to give a smile.

“I know, it’s just a bit… odd, right? That you guys knew each other so long ago and now she's just down the road.”

“Yeah, it’s,” Eve didn’t know the word, weird? Coincidence? Terrible? Annoying? Amazing? Fate? Destiny? Karma? All of the above? She thought if she ever saw Oksana again, she’d be ecstatic to get her back, after all this time but she had felt the opposite. She saw the blonde and all she felt was hurt. She felt  _ the  _ hurt that she’d felt when Oksana left 8 years ago. “It is odd.”

“Do you…. Do you want to talk to her again?” The teaching assistant mumbled, somewhat scared of Eve’s answer. Not scared of Eve because well, she wasn’t that scary. She loved the girl, but she wasn’t very intimidating, however, she knew how much Villanelle-Oksana hurt her and well, she had no idea what the professor was thinking. Eve, as you can tell, didn’t want to talk about it at all.

This question took the brunette by surprise. She hadn’t spoken about Villanelle to Elena. Obviously, other than when she was drunk and spilled what had happened to her, but other than that, she didn’t mention her again. She’d been on her mind, of course, especially when Elena mentioned her classes at the gym or even when she just mentioned Kenny. The professor’s mind immediately went to Villanelle. What was she doing? How was she doing after seeing her? Had she thought about her too? Was she thinking about her right now? Eve wanted to know everything she’d missed in the other woman’s life but she didn’t want to see her. Every time she saw those eyes, those lips, that confident but adorable smile… she saw everything that happened all those years ago.

A  _ bit _ of a conundrum.

“No, I don’t.”

\----------------

Villanelle was on a run, obviously. She was taking her lunch break so she let Hugo or Kenny run the front of the gym. They didn’t really need her there most of the time and she trusted them enough. Hugo flirted with the girls that came in, hopefully enticing some of them to come back, and Kenny actually knew how to keep the gym going so she was kind of glad they were both there. Also, it was her gym, so she could do what she wanted.

She’d been in a shitty mood all week. Ever since Eve waltzed into her gym, she’d been  _ off _ . It wasn't fair that the brunette could influence her emotions like this and it was very annoying to the blonde. She liked to be in control and Eve coming back into her life, even for a few minutes, definitely made her feel out of control, so, she did the only thing that made her feel truly in control. Exercise. Well, she was  _ almost _ always in control in the bedroom, but exercise was a 100% guarantee.

She had been running for almost two hours (yes, two hours) when she realized she wasn’t in her neighborhood anymore. But, unfortunately, she did actually recognize her surroundings. Obviously, she’d lived in London before. She’d gone to school in London, so she knew her way around but, there were certain areas she’d been trying to avoid. Like Imperial College of London and its close surroundings. Her gym was close to it but far enough where she never had to go near the University. 

She must’ve been so unaware of where she was going that she actually ended up in front of the building where she lived while attending Imperial. It wasn’t a dorm, but a building filled with small apartments for undergraduate students. It was an ugly building, to Villanelle, it was old, gray, and dark. She never liked it. But, Eve visited her there, quite often. Usually, it was when she had been in a fight with her husband. Yes, husband. It hadn’t stopped Villanelle when she was with Anna, so she didn’t think it would be a big problem with Eve. However, she learned the hard way that Niko was a problem. Still, the blonde was so happy during the times she spent with Eve in that small-ass apartment. One time, she remembered a bit too vividly.

_ Eve had just gotten in a fight with Niko. Not a physical fight, but a passive-aggressive one that had lasted for weeks that finally blew over with a yelling match. The brunette wasn’t really sure who won, but she knew she couldn’t stay with Niko that night. She only had one other place to go. The brunette knocked and immediately Oksana answered, smiling when she saw it was Eve. But her smile quickly faded when she noticed that the brunette was crying. _

_ “Eve, come in, what’s wrong?” Oksana ushered her in quickly, closing the door behind her.  _

_ The apartment was very tiny. There was a small entryway then a small living room with a tiny loveseat and TV. An adjoining kitchen which, luckily, did have a microwave and an oven. A cramped bedroom that barely had enough space for the nightstand. The brunette walked in and Oksana helped her take off her coat as the brunette headed for the loveseat in the middle of the room. Eve sat on it, sniffling, while the younger woman stood in front of her, confused. _

_ “Eve?” Oksana kneeled in front of her, trying to make contact with brown eyes, as she put a hand on her knee. _

_ “I- Niko just- He just-” She bursted out sobbing. She’d never cried in front of the other woman. A few tears here and there. But full-on balling. Never.  _

_ “Shhh, it’s okay, I’m here.” Oksana sat next to her, pulling her close, rubbing the brunette’s back as she cried. _

_ Eve calmed after a few minutes, resting her head on the student’s shoulder. The loveseat wasn’t that big, obviously. They’re not meant to be. Still, Eve wasn’t bothered by their closeness, she enjoyed it, in all honesty. Niko never gave her any kind of intimacy or affection anymore.  _

_ “Better?” _

_ Eve nodded and sat up to look up at her. _

_ “Thank you.” _

_ “You don’t need to thank me, it’s what friends are for.” She shrugged, knowing she wanted to be more than friends, but Eve felt comfortable around her, and that’s all she could ask for. _

_ “I do, though,” The brunette set her hand on top of Oksana’s, on her lower thigh, “You’re way too nice to me.” _

_ “I just care about you.” She shrugged again. Villanelle, looking back, can’t believe she said that and meant it. She’d never said those words, not even to Anna.  _

_ “Wait, your hair.” Eve ran her other hand through the younger woman’s hair, it was honey-blonde now. Oksana, up until that moment, had dark brown hair, with bangs. It was different now. Completely. It suited her much more, Eve thought. She wondered how she missed such a large difference until now but she must’ve been too focused on crying. _

_ “Oh yeah, I got it colored. You said the other day how I would look good as a blonde.” _

_ “So you just got it done?” Eve laughed, finding the now-blonde’s impulsivity hilarious, “Just because I said it would look nice?” _

_ Oksana hated her haircut anyway. It only reminded her of her childhood and Anna. Neither of which she wanted to remember. So, when Eve said she could picture her as a blonde, she knew that’s what she had to do.  _

_ “Well, yeah. I trust you.” She grinned, again surprised at herself for the honest confession.  _

_ Their faces were close now, and the eye contact was very tense, but neither of them dared look away. Except, after a moment, Eve made the mistake of dipping her eyesight to the blonde’s lips. Villanelle vividly remembered the excitement she felt at that moment. It was the moment she’d been waiting for all those months of being friends with Eve. She mimicked the brunette’s movement and very slowly leaned in until they were sharing the same air, then she stopped. _

_ “I don’t know if you should…” Eve whispered, barely able to get the words out. She had no idea what had come over her. Was it just the fact someone wanted her? Made her feel beautiful? Or was it Oksana? Her charm, beauty, kindness… _

_ “Do you want me to stop?” She purred, still staring at the brunette’s lips. _

_ “I…” If Eve said no, she knew she would be lying but she couldn’t say yes, she was married. And Oksana was so much younger than her. She’d just celebrated her 18th birthday. With Eve, funnily enough. _

_ Oksana continued to lean in until their lips were touching. Then Eve closed her eyes and closed the distance. She couldn’t say ‘yes’ with words but she could do it with an action.  _

_ It felt like…. Okay, cheesy yes, but completely true… it felt like fireworks. Eve’s sure her heart skipped a beat or it was beating faster than it ever had before. There was no in-between. And Oksana felt the same. The soft feeling of Eve’s lips against her own was all she’d been wanting since she met the brunette and it was even better than she had imagined. Is this what heaven felt like? Because if it was, she was ready to go. _

_ It was soft and sweet for a few minutes, their bodies turned to each other on the small chair, Eve’s hand on the back of the blonde’s neck, with both of Oksana’s hands in dark curls. She told Eve how much she loved her hair every day, and now she was going to tell her with actions. Their tongues touched softly, only delicate touches but after a little bit of time, the blonde got more aggressive. She quickly wrapped her leg around Eve’s waist, straddling her on the small seat. The blonde slipped her tongue with firm strokes into Eve’s mouth, inciting a moan from the brunette that almost made Oksana come right there. But the brunette pushed her away and stood up, leaving the blonde breathless.  _

_ “I can’t- I shouldn’t have..” She started to back away. _

_ “Eve, it’s okay, you don’t have to be scared,” Oksana stood up and tried to put her arms around the brunette to reassure her but she continued to step back, “I know what I’m doing.” _

_ “It’s not that,” She sighed, turning away from the younger woman, “I’m married, Oksana.” _

_ “I know that.”  _

_ “And you’re a child, you-” _

_ “I’m not a child, Eve.” She hated being called that. _

_ “I just meant that you’re 18 and I’m….” She sighed, there were so many reasons she couldn’t kiss Oksana and one reason she could. She wanted to. _

_ “That’s why I can’t do… that.” Eve turned, gesturing to the loveseat. _

_ Oksana didn’t want the brunette to run away. She relied on her. She made her feel safe. That was the only way Villanelle could rationalize her next words.  _

_ “We can just,” She tried to put on a comforting smile but she really couldn’t make herself do it, “Pretend it never happened?” Even now, she hated that she said that. She wished she could go back. The brunette took a moment, looking into hazel eyes. She couldn’t pretend this never happened but she had to try. For herself. For Niko. For Oksana’s future. _

_ “Okay.” _

It hadn’t been the best night of young Oksana’s life, but Villanelle never forgot it. She liked to think of it as the beginning of the end. She continued down the street until she saw the building she used to go in every day. Imperial College London.

There was the lecture hall in there, where she’d see Eve. She only had that class once a week, she even remembered the time like the back of her hand. Thursdays at 1:00 pm. She remembered looking forward to it every week. Eve wasn’t even the professor, but the blonde would stare at her throughout the whole class. She already knew everything the professor was saying, anyway.

She didn’t know how long she was standing there, in her white Nike t-shirt and plain black leggings, her sweat evaporating off her arms with the London breeze. She had her rose-gold Beats on, but she wasn’t paying attention to the music that was playing. She examined the building and it looked pretty much the same. A sleek white modern exterior, contrasting the other more ancient buildings. She wondered if the interior was still the same… Maybe the lecture hall where she had Eve’s class was the same…

She took a step toward the building and stopped, looking at the front entrance. It’s as if she summoned her or something because right there, leaving the building, was Eve (and Elena). Villanelle froze, blinking furiously, insisting that her mind was playing tricks on her. But, it wasn’t. There was Eve, in an ugly grey raincoat and black trousers, holding a coffee. Her hair was in a bun, and Villanelle secretly wished she kept it down. She used to tell her to wear it down all the time. Sometimes she listened, sometimes she didn’t.

The blonde snapped back into reality when she realized the two women were walking in her direction. She turned and ran away past the building and back to her apartment, suddenly filled with too much adrenaline to handle. She really hated the effect that this woman still had on her. She needed to find a way to stop it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a bit Villanelle-heavy chapter, but there will be more Eve soon. and there will be more flashbacks cuz i enjoy writing them ;)  
> i'm still trying to plan out this story so bear with me for consistent updates.  
> talk to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/villanellesgun) if you want! love u guys
> 
> kira x


	5. Dina & The Divorce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eve reconnects with an old student...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, here's another chapter. hope u still enjoy this story, im trying my best but its gonna be a SLOW burn :P

**Chapter 5**

Eve just signed the divorce papers. 

She didn’t know how to feel as she sat across from Niko, who refused to look at her, as they signed their names on a billion sheets of paper. They didn’t speak. Well, Niko didn’t. Eve  _ tried _ to say something as she finished signing her name one more time, but before she could get any words out. So, Niko stood up and left the room. Without a word.

She didn’t even know what she had wanted to say. ‘Bye?’ ‘See you soon?’ Would she see him soon? Was this the last time she’d ever see him? She didn’t know. They hadn’t spoken in person for months and if they did, it was over text to confirm something one of their lawyers said.

Eve sat for a few minutes, trying to process everything. She knew there wasn’t any animosity between them because she believed Niko just wanted to move on. No anger. No hatred.She wanted to move on too, of course, but it wasn’t that simple. Yes, they’d been separated for months but now they were  _ divorced. _ Along with that, she decided not to keep Niko’s name. It’d been 10 years of being ‘Eve Polastri’ and she didn’t feel like a Polastri anymore. She wasn’t a Polastri anymore. The Polastri that  _ was _ in her life wasn’t in her life anymore. Eve knew Niko would always be a part of her, she spent most of her adult life with him, but she couldn’t share his name anymore. She was Eve Park… again.

It was Friday and she had her graduate class in an hour and today they had a special guest lecturer. Dina Lewis. She was an old student of Eve’s. Well, not old, she only graduated last year, however, she’d been one of Eve’s favorite students other than…. Oksana. But, technically, Oksana wasn’t one of  _ Eve’s  _ students. The brunette had just been the TA, so she doesn’t count.

Dina had been interning at MI6 for the past year and was just offered a permanent job. Before deciding on becoming a professor, joining MI6 was what Eve had dreamed of doing. However, when she discussed this with Niko, he refused to even let her apply. He said it was too dangerous and would only put them at risk. He’d drilled this into her brain so deeply, that she eventually gave up this idea. She decided on becoming a professor, and after some time, she didn’t hate it. When she met Oksana, however, the blonde helped her fall in  _ love  _ with the job. Obviously, she wasn’t a professor  _ yet _ , but the younger woman encouraged her, supported her, and made her feel like she could truly change the world when she did become a professor. Niko never did that. He did the opposite, actually. 

Eve emailed Dina a few weeks ago and they set up a time. She was still living in London and the professor needed a guest lecturer. She always tried to include one in her graduate class, usually toward the beginning of the second semester since it allowed the students enough time to consider their options before they actually had to act on anything. Most of them had no idea what they wanted to do after University and Eve wanted to present them with as many choices as possible. A guest lecturer usually helped as they discussed what they did and how they got there. And to Eve, Dina was exceptional. 

Granted, she was already very successful, being accepted to an MI6 internship and then for a job, but the young woman was smart, kind, always contributed in class, and was very attractive. Not that the professor was thinking about how her students looked, but Dina was very good-looking. Eve could tell. She had light brown skin, long wavy dark hair, and her eyes were this blue-greenish color that Eve couldn’t describe with words. She reminded her of Oksana... or should she say Villanelle? Were they the same person? The professor didn’t know. Regardless, Dina was also upfront, straight-forward, and gave you tough-love when you needed it. 

However, nothing against Oksana, but Dina was very mature for her age. When Eve first got to know Oksana, she saw that the younger woman was very impulsive, highly intelligent of course, but she never thought about the consequences to her decisions. Dina, on the other hand, was very thorough and thoughtful. Eve guessed her age to be around 29 now, a couple of years older than what Villanelle would be. Eve couldn’t help but compare them since they were similar and different in so many ways. She also met them both here but at  _ completely _ different points in her life. Eve started to wonder what would’ve happened if she had met Oksana/Villanelle now, rather than 8 years ago… 

Dina strutted in the office 10 minutes before the lecture was set to start, while Eve was at her desk looking through past exams and notes, preparing for other classes.

“Eve!” She yelled, the professor instantly looking up and recognizing the slight English accent. 

The brunette loved accents, but there were some that were hard to understand. However, Dina’s was very elegant and Eve enjoyed hearing it. It was also refreshing how since she wasn’t technically a student, she didn’t have to be called ‘Professor Polastri’ or I guess, ‘Professor Park’ now. She would have to figure out how to change the name on her office door.

“Dina, it’s nice to see you,” Eve stood and smiled, “How are you?”

“I’m really good!” She squealed, the brunette appreciating the happiness that radiated off this woman, “How’s professor life?”

“It’s,” She looked around the empty lecture hall and laughed lightly, “It’s tiring but worth it.”

“Because of students like me?” Dina smirked, and leaned her hip on Eve’s wooden desk, across from the professor. This was one of the times where Eve saw Oksana in Dina, and, in all honesty, she didn’t mind it.

“Hmm,” Eve pretended to look up at the ceiling in deep thought, “Not sure.”   
  


“Oh stop,” She waved her hand in dismissal, pretending to be hurt by Eve’s comment, “I know I was your favorite.”

“Ok, fine, maybe.” She rolled her eyes.

Dina only smirked in response, happy with the professor’s confession.

“So, are you excited about your job at MI6?” Eve sat back down, Dina following suit and sitting down across from her.

“I’m buzzing for it, honestly. I’ve been studying violent female psychopaths over the past few months and,” She shook her head, grinning, “It reminded me of one of your best lectures.” Eve blushed.

“Oh yeah,” The professor looked down while remembering. She’d always been fascinated by what drove females to kill and when she gave that lecture, she loved every minute of it and obviously Dina did too, “I really liked giving that lecture.”

“Did you always want to be a criminology professor?” She asked, leaning back on her chair. 

“Well, funny enough,” Eve was going to avoid discussing her now ex-husband and his disapproval of the job she wanted so long ago, “I did consider applying for a job at MI6.”

“Oh wow,” Dina smiled, now leaning forward to the desk on her elbows, “Why didn’t you?”

“I don’t know…” She did know, but she wasn’t going to tell her ex-student about it, “I guess I liked the idea of shaping the minds of those who were passionate enough about criminology.” She shrugged, trying not to think of the way Oksana used to talk about Eve’s choice in profession. She’d almost quoted her from something she’d said 8 years ago.

“I think that’s quite beautiful, Eve,” Dina purred the professor’s name, which made Eve feel  _ something _ , “It’s very selfless.”

“Mmm, I don’t know about selfless,” She tried to sit back, now noticing she was also leaning forward across her desk and was  _ a bit _ too close to Dina, “I enjoy it but I don’t know how much the students do.” She laughed, trying to make a joke but her ex-student’s face dropped.

“Eve. You wer- you  _ are _ my favorite professor. Honestly, you made me realize what I could do and you supported me every step of the way,” The professor couldn’t help but smile. The last person who’d made her feel this confident about being a professor was Oksana, “I can’t thank you enough for that.”

“Dina, I’m just doing my job, you really don’t have to thank me.”

“No, I do,” She stood up, the professor now realizing that students were starting to enter the lecture hall, “I still work part-time at a bar down the street and you should come, the first round is on me. As a thank you.” She winked with Eve, feeling her heart flutter, for some reason. She’d never felt this way… well, she had, but not in years.

“You really don’t have to--” Eve started but Elena burst through the doors.

“DINA!!!” Elena ran up and bear-hugged the woman. She and Dina had been in a few classes while they were both at Imperial and had continued to keep in touch since Dina graduated. When Eve told her assistant that she was the guest lecturer, Elena was  _ very _ excited.

“Hi, Elena,” Dina stepped back, grinning, “How are you?” 

“Tired because of this one,” She pointed toward Eve who was now looking down, slightly embarrassed, “But I’m alright. How are you,  _ agent _ Lewis?” She smirked.

The older woman laughed saying she was fine, shoving Elena lightly. 

“We should probably get started, right Eve?” She turned to the professor, brown meeting those blue-green eyes. Eve was feeling heavy deja vu, but for some reason she was enjoying it.

“Yes right,” Eve turned toward the now-full lecture hall, “Afternoon, everyone. Today we have a special guest, one of my old students, Dina Lewis. She has been interning at MI6, so today she’ll be talking about what you can do with your criminology degrees. Floor is yours, Dina.” The professor gestured at her ex-student to move toward the front of the room while she sat down in one of the front rows.

“Wow, Eve, I wouldn’t say I’m an  _ old  _ student of yours,” She smirked at the professor who could feel her face redden, while some of the students laughed at her comment, “But, yes, I will be talking to all of you about what you can do  _ if _ you graduate.” She smiled and Eve could already tell the younger woman had hooked the other students, just by being herself. Oksana was able to do the same thing. However, she did it  _ from  _ the crowd. 

And Eve couldn’t help but think of Oksana, or now Villanelle, all throughout Dina’s lecture.

\-----------------

“Thanks, everyone!” Dina waved as the students started packing up and exiting the hall, “Be kind to Eve, please, she does too much work not to be appreciated!” She smiled and turned to Eve who was walking up to her.

“Thank you for doing that, Dina. It means a lot.” She smiled, feeling a little nervous. Why was she nervous? 

“You know, as a way to thank me, you could let me make you a drink.” Oh, that was why Eve was nervous. Dina’s drink offer. To be honest, the professor could use a good night out. She’d been working non-stop all week, had just gotten divorced, and Carolyn was still keeping tabs on her work. She never had much time to herself and if Dina was offering...

“She’ll be there.” Elena came up next to her, answering Dina’s question.

“Fine.” Eve rolled her eyes, pretending she wasn’t a little excited.

“Now come on Di, I wanna show you this new gym.” She was pulled by Elena out of the hall, Eve’s ex-student turning and giving her a wink on her way out.

\--------------

Villanelle was very bored. There were no classes she had to teach today and there were only a few people in the gym at the moment. Hugo and Kenny had the afternoon off and Nadia had a class later, so she wasn’t here yet. It was just the blonde and she was losing her mind a little bit. 

She was swiveling on the chair at the front desk when she heard Elena walk in. 

“V!” Elena smiled, as the blonde recognized her.

“Elena, I’m so happy to see you, I’m soooo bored.” She actually was starting really like Elena. The more time she spent with her, the more she realized how similar they were. At first, the blonde was hesitant, knowing that she was friends with Eve, however, the woman was strikingly different from the professor, so as they spent more time around one another, she thought of Eve less. Also, let’s not forget, Villanelle was very bored.

“Wonderful, because I have someone who wants to start a membership,” She gestured to Dina who was giving the assistant a look, “This is Dina.”

“Hi,” She held her hand out and the blonde couldn’t help but find her attractive. Her hair was… phenomenal.

“Hi, I’m Villanelle.” She shook her hand, meeting very pretty eyes.

“Ah I see, so you're the owner,” Dina looked around and smirked, “ _ V’s _ gym and all.”

“Creative name, I know.” Elena giggled.

“Hey! I like it, it’s simple.” The blonde laughed too, starting to pull up paperwork from the desk.

“You don’t have to start any type of paid membership today. I’ll start you with a 2-week trial so that you can get a feel for the area.” She set the paperwork on the desk, assessing Dina’s facial features. She was stunning, but not  _ exactly _ her type.

“Oh okay great,” Dina furrowed her brows as she read the papers, signing where necessary. She’d been looking for a gym and this was right by the bar and MI6 headquarters. Perfect location. 

She finished quickly, while Elena and Villanelle made idle conversation. The blonde filed the papers on the side of the desk and then looked back at the women.

“You’re all set. Welcome to V’s gym.”

“Thank you.” She smiled politely, happy to be finished with the paperwork. 

“You know V, she works at the bar down the street, you should come out with us tonight,” Elena swears she forgot that they invited Eve. She swears on her life.

“I just might have to take you up on that.” The blonde smiled, her eyes not leaving Dina.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am very nervous introducing a new character into the story... how do you feel??  
> i wanna hear it all: comments, concerns, questions...
> 
> love you all, thx for ur patience with this story. im really trying to write as much as i can!
> 
> talk to me on [twitter](%E2%80%9Cwww.twitter.com/villanellesgun%E2%80%9D) if you want
> 
> kira x


	6. Distraction(s)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eve and Villanelle see each other... again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, im still here! sorry for the lack of updates, i've barely had any time to write but ill keep at it!  
> enjoy!

**Chapter 6**

Eve went home and changed into a new outfit. She’d been wearing old trousers with a knitted turtleneck and she realized if she was going to a bar filled with people, she should look nice. It was not because of Dina. It was weird to think of an old student like that, isn’t it? Eve was trying not to but she kept replaying their conversation earlier. Dina couldn’t have been flirting… right? As you can see, the professor had a lot of questions about a lot of things, all without answers.

She pulled on tight black jeans and paired them with a hunter green V-neck t-shirt. Simple but flattering. She didn’t really want to do anything more than that, to be honest. Also, she didn’t want to look like she was  _ trying.  _ That would send certain signals. 

Elena texted her earlier, telling her where the bar was and to Eve’s surprise, it was the same bar she’d been to two weeks ago.

After she went to V’s gym. After she saw Oks- Villanelle. 

Of course  _ this  _ was where Dina worked. Luckily, she didn’t work  _ at _ V’s gym, that would've been so much worse. Looking on the bright side.

The brunette sighed as she walked in, knowing she was in for a long night. It was Friday and that meant every single Uni student was in a bar tonight and if she saw one of her students, she might just crawl into a hole. It was just as awkward running into your students as it was running into your teacher. Trust Eve on this one.

She walked up to the bar, squeezing past young women and men, not seeing any of her students. She did see Dina at the bar, pouring glasses for a customer. When Eve walked up she saw that the customer was Elena and she was sitting next to someone else. A blonde. She wasn’t facing her but as the brunette got closer she heard  _ that  _ laugh. You have got to be kidding.

“Eve!” Elena yelled, visibly drunk. 

When she sobered up, the professor was going to kill her. And she’d been right, the blonde was Villanelle, and she was looking right at her. It took her a moment to peel her eyes away and look toward Dina. 

“Hi, Eve,” Dina smiled, pulling a glass and pouring the professor a drink. Okay, so maybe Eve  _ did _ like this woman, “How are you?”

The professor sat down next to Elena, still feeling those hazel eyes on her. Luckily, her assistant was separating them.

“I need a drink.” She said, trying to force a smile. 

“Well, lucky you. This,” Dina pushed the drink in front of the professor, “Is for you.”

“Thank you,” The brunette took the glass and drank as much of it as she could before setting it back down, “Wow.”   
  


“Slow down there,” Dina laughed and then she realized she hadn’t introduced the blonde sitting with them, “Eve, this is Villanelle. She owns a gym up the road.”

Elena froze. She was starting to sober up very quickly. The tension couldn’t be cut with a knife and she was  _ right _ in the middle of it. 

And Villanelle was not happy. Actually, that was an understatement. 

She’d been enjoying her night out so far, getting to know Dina, flirting with her a little bit, and hanging out with Elena. And despite Dina not reciprocating the flirting, Villanelle needed a break from the gym since she’d been there all day. But now there was Eve. She really didn’t appreciate the Universe pushing them back into the same room. She thought 8 years ago would be the last time she’d see the brunette. Then she thought two weeks ago would be the last time, but apparently Karma had other plans. However, she still had common decency. She wasn’t going to ruin the night for herself or for the other girls by saying how she felt about the professor being there.

She leaned forward, looking past Elena and at Eve, waving slightly. Also, the blonde couldn’t help but notice the fact that Dina had been staring at Eve this entire time. She  _ really _ didn’t like that.

“Hi, Eve.” She liked saying the professor’s name, it felt natural. It shouldn’t, but it did. 

Eve had no idea what to do. Why did this keep happening? Why were they put in the same place together  _ again _ ? And why did she keep pretending that she didn’t know her? She knew her. She knew everything about her. Well… she  _ did _ .

“Hello.” The brunette met her eyes for a second then went back to her drink. She wanted to try and enjoy herself but she had a feeling Villanelle wasn’t going to allow that.

“So….” Elena tried to start a conversation, regretting inviting either of the women next to her.

“So Eve,” Dina leaned her elbows on the bar, not paying attention to any of the other patrons, “What’s up with you?” Villanelle could feel the flirting from across the bar and she was seething. She definitely wasn’t jealous, but she just believed very few people deserved the right to flirt with Eve. 

“Oh nothing,” She waved her hand in dismissal, “My life is very boring, to be honest.” 

Villanelle let out a scoff, she couldn’t help it. It must’ve been the alcohol. She was upset at Eve and she didn’t want to hide it after  _ all _ this time. Also, alcohol.

“Oh my god, seriously?” Eve slammed her drink on the table, standing up and looking at Villanelle. When she looked at the blonde, she could see this was  _ not _ Oksana. This was somebody else. 

The professor wasn’t going to stand for  _ this _ anymore. Who gave her the right? She left and now she had the audacity to scoff at her. 

“What is it, Eve?” The blonde opened her arms in question, standing up to face the brunette.

“Oh god.” Elena mumbled, turning toward the bar and putting her hands over her eyes.

“Do they know each other or something?” Dina leaned forward to whisper to Elena.

“Or something.” She whispered back.

“After all this time, you really have to be in this bar? Right now?” Eve was starting to yell, luckily the place was so loud, no one was really paying attention to them.

“Why can’t I be here? It’s a free country, isn’t it?” Villanelle was starting to move closer.

“That’s not the point, Oksana.” The brunette rolled her eyes and threw her hands up and down, already fed up with the woman. She could smell the woman’s perfume. Oksana had always been fascinated with perfume, trying out a new one every week. But this one was very different. It was powerful, overwhelming. Still, Eve wasn’t going to let her guard down, not even for a second.

“It’s Villanelle,” The blonde seethed, “And what  _ is  _ the point, hmm? Can’t handle being here with me? Want me to leave?”

“Oh like you left 8 years ago? Where’d you go again?” Eve furrowed her brows, never getting the answer to her question from two weeks ago. 

“I feel like we’ve had this conversation before,” Villanelle waved her hand in front of the brunette, angering the professor even more, “Can we just skip to the end?”

“So you can leave again? The doors that way.” Eve gestured toward the front of the bar.

The blonde clenched her jaw so she wouldn’t say something she’d regret.

“I’m not leaving Eve, but you’re welcome to.” Villanelle deflated, sitting back at the bar.

“Oh, fuck you.” The professor mumbled before turning, pushing past a few people, and stepping outside into the much colder London night. 

She took a few steps and slumped against the outside of the brick building. There was another man out there, smoking a cigarette. The brunette had given up smoking when she married Niko and she hadn’t felt a need to smoke for years. 

“Could I…” She gestured to the cigarette and the pack in the man’s other hand.

“Oh yeah sure,” He had a thick accent, maybe Irish, and pulled a cigarette out of the pack and handed it to her, “Need a light?”

“Yes, thank you.” She smiled, putting the cigarette in her mouth and her hands around it as the man lit it. She inhaled, took the cigarette between her fingers, and exhaled.

“Thanks, again.”

“No problem, mate. Have a good one.” The man threw his cigarette on the ground, stepped on it, and walked away.

Eve stood there for a few minutes, inhaling and exhaling. She wasn’t going to lie, she did feel a lot better. But the blonde was still on her mind. Why was she here and why did she keep tormenting her? London was so big, yet, for some reason, they ended up in the same bar on the same night with the same people. 

“Eve?” Dina stepped out, looking left and right, but quickly met eyes with the professor.

“Eve, what are you doing out here? It’s cold.”

“I just needed a,” She looked at the cigarette, it being almost finished, “I just needed some fresh air.”

“Well, I don’t think this,” She carefully took the cigarette out of the professor’s hand and flicked it to the ground, “Is giving you any  _ fresh _ air.”

Eve was then aware of their proximity. Dina was standing right in front of her and at this point, she was looking right into her eyes. That’s when Eve saw her eyes dip. Okay, the professor now realized she had  _ definitely  _ been flirting with her.

“I didn’t know you smoked.” 

“I don’t usually, just when I’m stressed or need a distraction.” The professor shrugged, trying to avoid piercing blue-green eyes. 

“Which one is it now?” Dina put both her hands on the brick wall behind Eve, next to the professor’s head. The brunette was now having trouble focusing. This wasn’t good, or was it?

“It... it’s kinda… both I think.” 

That’s when she heard the ring of the bell from the bar’s door. Then two familiar voices.

“So I’ll see you next week for a class?”  _ That  _ accent was first. She could see the blonde hair from the corner of her eye.

“Right, yes, thanks V.” Elena. Of course.

Dina didn’t seem fazed by the two women because she was still staring at the professor’s lips. That’s when Eve had an idea. A stupid, completely alcohol-induced one. 

She grabbed the labels of Dina’s jacket and pulled her in, their lips meeting in a kiss. The other woman was shocked for a second but then her mouth moved in sync with Eve’s. The professor thought it was nice. She’d only kissed one woman before this. She’d always appreciated women and their bodies, who wouldn’t? But, she’d never acted on any attraction she’d had. Except, well… 8 years ago. And now. 

And she wasn't going to lie, she was  _ definitely _ thinking about her kiss with Oksana as she kissed Dina, which she knew wasn’t right. But she couldn’t help but think of the two women who were only a few feet to her right. Well, she didn’t care much about what Elena would think, more about Villanelle. And the blonde…. For lack of a better word, was shocked.

She’d walked out of the bar, with Elena, and turned to her left to walk back to her place when she saw them. Eve. Kissing Dina. 

“Oh, didn’t expect that one.” Elena said next to her, also in shock, but with a little hint of pride. 

Villanelle couldn’t make words. So now Eve liked women? No, she couldn’t be mad about the brunette’s newfound sexuality. That wasn’t her fault. She knew what it was like to question and discover a liking for women. It just wasn’t fair. Wasn’t Eve married? Wasn’t  _ that _ the reason she couldn’t be with her? Or was it because she had been a student? Technically, not  _ her _ student, but a student nonetheless. But since Dina had graduated last year, Eve obviously didn’t care now. Fine, that’s how it is. 

The blonde huffed, basically stomping past the two women who were now way-too-passionately making out against the brick wall. Eve wished she could say she was focusing on Dina. She was trying to, but she could hear Villanelle’s exhale and her boot-clad footsteps pass them. She couldn’t do this, she couldn’t use Dina this way. That wasn’t fair to the woman. She was sweet and kind, and Eve did like her but she didn’t think she liked her… in that way. Maybe she did, maybe she didn’t. Point is, she shouldn’t have kissed her.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have...” Eve pulled her head back, panting.

“It’s okay,” She smiled and tilted her head, “I liked it.”

Eve could see her blonde ponytail swinging as she walked behind Dina and down the street. 

“Sorry, I need to…” She didn’t finish her sentence before slipping out of Dina’s grasp and chasing the blonde. Dina tried to yell for her, but Eve was already too far away.

  
“Oks-,” Eve really couldn’t get used to her new name but she was trying to, she  _ wanted  _ to, “Villanelle, wait, please!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for ur love on this story, i hope u like it!!  
> talk to me on twitter if u want:)
> 
> love u guys
> 
> kira x


	7. Common Misconceptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V & Eve 'talk' outside the bar and someone unexpectedly shows up at Eve's lecture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, so i thought i'd give you this long chapter instead of the final specialties chapter because i am not prepared to post it.  
> so, here you are. a nice long chapter w a lot of v/eve interaction.

**Chapter 7**

The blonde didn’t want to turn around. She wanted to keep walking until Eve eventually gave up. But she wasn’t giving up. And she was catching up to her. But if it was a race, Villanelle knew she’d beat the brunette  _ easily _ but she only exercised in clothes designed for exercise. She refused to sweat in her designer clothes. And she was wearing a Saint Laurent satin white blouse with Alexander Wang black jeans. Point being, she was never going to exercise in  _ these  _ clothes. So, she stopped and turned instead of having to speed up.

“Villanelle!” Eve was right behind her, panting. She really needed a gym, but she’d never admit it. When she saw the blonde stop and look at her, she knew she could take a minute. She put her hands on her knees, bending down, filling her lungs with air.

“You alright?” The blonde chuckled, finding the professor’s lack of fitness a little funny. Okay, she found it  _ very _ funny.

“Yeah just,” She breathed, gesturing to her chest, trying to emphasize she needed time to breathe, “Need a second.”

“Please, take your time.” Villanelle crossed her arms, looking around at the half-empty London streets.

Eve’s breathing steadied and she stood up, finally locking into those hazel eyes.

“Better?” Villanelle’s eyes widened sarcastically, “You know I’d offer you a gym membership but...” She shrugged, smiling like a devil. 

She was  _ still _ a little prick, Eve thought.

“Oh my god,” The professor rolled her eyes, “Can we have an actual conversation for one second? Please I’m so fucking sick of this.” She gestured between them.

Eve was tired of this bullshit. Could this woman just cut the crap so they could talk about… whatever they needed to talk about, wait… what did they need to talk about?

“Sure, Eve. Let’s have a conversation,” She took a step forward and the professor hoped she didn’t visibly flinch at the breach of personal space, “What would you like to talk about?” Her eyes widened mockingly as she looked down into big brown eyes.

“Just…” She may or may not have forgotten what she wanted to say when she realized how close their faces were, “Where have you been?”

“Why do you want to know  _ so _ badly?” Eve already asked this before but the professor had to know, for some reason. She’d needed to know what the blonde had been doing and why she  _ had _ to leave. Where she  _ had  _ to go. What she  _ had  _ to do.

“I guess I just want to know where you went off to.” She mumbled, shrugging.

“Paris,” The blonde felt… bad? She assumed that’s what this feeling was. She didn’t know why, but she did feel bad that Eve didn’t know anything about her life for the past 8 years. She could see the brunette had changed quite a bit too, kissing women and all, so why not tell her? No harm done. “I went to Paris.”

“Oh.” Was all Eve said, slightly shocked at a straight-forward answer. Oksana always found loopholes to avoid answering questions she didn’t want to but, eventually, Eve always got it out of her. That was still the same.

“Was that it? You just wanted to know where I went? I thought there would be more.”

“There is!” She said a bit too quickly, “I… I want us to be civil. I don’t want to keep running into each other and us yelling at each other. It’s... exhausting.”

“It’s only happened twice,” The blonde chuckled, her demeanor softening slightly, the professor opened her mouth to protest but Villanelle continued, “What makes you think we will keep running into each other?”

“Well, I mean it’s happened twice already and you’re friends with Elena. Her kind-of-boyfriend also works at your gym so….” 

“Elena is dating Hugo?!” Villanelle seemed distressed as this. As you would be.

Eve furrowed her brows, she assumed Elena had told the blonde all about Kenny by now. Then she remembered how Oksana zoned out of conversations she wasn’t interested in. Okay so, that hadn’t changed. Mentally, Eve was noticing all of these things. She wanted to see how much Oksana had changed. How much she’d grown. Sometimes, the professor forgot how influential these 8 years would’ve been, no matter where the blonde was. She had gone through her early twenties. Formative years, years that Eve missed out on seeing.

“No,” The brunette laughed at her confusion, “Kenny.”

“Oh,” She nodded her head, happier with that answer, “Good. I like him more than the other one.” Eve couldn’t help but smile at Villanelle’s objectification of her employees. Another of Oksana’s qualities just… older? More mature?   
  


“So, can we be civil? We don’t have to talk about…” Eve didn’t know how to approach their past so she tried to tiptoe around it, “Anything. But, we can stop yelling whenever we see each other?”

“Yes, we can stop yelling at each other.” Villanelle nodded and gestured to her throat, “I can’t lose my voice. It’s one of my best features.” Eve rolled her eyes. She still had her confidence.

The blonde felt friends would be too much and enemies too extreme. She had neither ‘friends’ nor ‘enemies’. She could  _ try  _ being civil. Eve wasn’t wrong when she said the yelling was exhausting and she did have a point about Elena. While the blonde didn’t think she had ‘friends’, she did enjoy spending time with Eve’s assistant, so she assumed that’s what people thought friends were. And since Elena was Eve’s friend, Villanelle knew she’d probably see the brunette again, whether she wanted to or not. 

So,  _ civil _ was easiest for both of them.

“Ok, good.” The professor also nodded, realizing neither of them had stepped away from each other. This was awkward, right?

“Umm,” Villanelle furrowed her brow, Eve looking at the lines her eyebrows made and smiled, she remembered those so vividly. Whenever Oksana would be studying or concentrating on anything, she’d frown and those lines would appear the same way, “I guess since we are civil, I should let you back to the gym?” This sounded like more of a question than a statement and the professor could tell she didn’t really know what to do. A rare occurrence with Oksana and Eve assumed an even rarer occurrence with Villanelle.

“You don’t have to, I just tried one class because Elena asked me to. I don’t really need a membership or anything.”

Villanelle barked out a laugh, tilting her head back. It was the same laugh, Eve noted that down too.

“You were basically on your knees after jogging for _one_ block. It might’ve been less than a block. Honestly, I think I’d be doing you a favor.” Eve was slightly hurt, this was now the second person discussing her lack of stamina. She was a professor, not a marathon runner.

“Ok, no need to be mean.” Eve held her hand up, trying to stand up for herself but she didn’t have much of an argument since the blonde was _ kind of _ right.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Villanelle wiped a tear from her eye, okay it wasn’t  _ that  _ funny, “We are doing a free two-week trial, so you’re welcome to try that. Your  _ girlfriend _ actually just signed up for it this afternoon.” The blonde glanced up back at the bar, Eve’s face dropping in realization. 

Villanelle  _ had  _ to say something about it. She wasn’t going to “let it slide.” Not her style. Never was, never would be.

“Oh my god, Dina.” She turned to see no one outside the bar. Shit.

When she turned back, the blonde was walking down the street, away from her. 

She didn’t follow her this time.

\------------

Eve walked back to the bar, finding Elena and Dina still inside. The bar was less crowded, everyone starting to finally make their way home. But, Dina was still here. She was wiping down the bar whilst talking to Elena. The professor tentatively stepped toward Elena, sitting down next to her. At this point, Dina walked away and started pouring a drink for one of the only other customers at the other end of the bar.

“Shit.” Eve muttered.

“So, Dina, huh?” Her assistant wiggled her eyebrows.

“I- It was just,” The brunette sighed, she felt very guilty. She didn’t think she  _ used _ Dina at the time, she just had an impulse to kiss her, but looking back… the professor realized she  _ may _ have kissed her to avoid confronting Villanelle or to incite a reaction from her. 

In a way, she kind of did both. But, using Dina for any reason was wrong especially since Eve liked her… as a friend or more, she didn’t know. “I don’t know what it was.”

“Hmmm,  _ obviously _ . She was just telling me about how you ran after a certain blonde…”

“Fuck! Is she mad? I just didn’t- I don’t know what I was thinking.” She set her head on the table, groaning.

“I don’t think she’s  _ mad,  _ but,” Her assistant leaned forward, “I think she’s jealous, to be honest. Maybe a little angry though, since you ran off without an explana-”

“I need to apologize.” Eve sat up, interrupting. 

“Well, yeah, but I think we also need to talk about you and Villanelle. If it was important enough to run away from  _ that...”  _ Elena gestured to Dina who was talking to another patron and pointing to some of the bottles behind her. 

Dina was pretty and very fit. Eve was confused about why she needed a gym membership because she already had the body of a goddess but, to be fair, so did Villanelle, and she  _ owned  _ a gym. I guess it was all about maintenance? Eve didn’t really understand the appeal of constant exercise but she could easily see its effect. Point is, maybe Eve  _ was _ attracted to Dina, maybe she  _ was _ attracted to Villanelle. Maybe she  _ was _ attracted to both. 

She  _ was _ attracted, at one point, to Oksana, she could admit that much. But, Villanelle was different. Yet the same. The professor had no idea how similar or how different the two were. And Dina was…. Well, Eve didn’t know. And that mystery intrigued her but she could still never get Villanelle or Oksana out of her head. That’s why she wanted to make the blonde jealous, that’s why she ran after her. That’s why she didn’t want to hate her anymore. She didn’t want to hate her for leaving or for all the hurt she caused. Eve still cared for her no matter how much she had hurt her. And the thought of that… terrified her.

“Later.” The professor stood, walking behind her assistant toward the other side of the bar.

“Hey, can we talk?” She asked, the other woman finally looking up from cleaning a glass.

“About?” She looked down, continuing to wipe a glass but a little more furiously.

“I just wanted to apologize. I don’t know why I kissed you and then went after…” Why was it so hard to just say her name?

“That apology did not make me feel better, Eve.” She softened, smiling at the other woman as she set the cleaned glass down. She couldn’t blame the professor for how she felt about the blonde and she knew any relationship between them would be unconventional.  _ She _ didn’t mind being unconventional, but she didn’t know how Eve felt.

“I’m sorry I really just didn’t know how to… I just thought that maybe-” The professor started rambling, unaware that Dina was smiling at her.

“Eve,” Dina set her hand on top of the brunette’s, “It is okay. I get it.”

“Get… what?” Eve asked hesitantly, she was confused.

“You like Villanelle,” She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, “After you went after her, Elena mentioned you two had some weird history. So, I get it. It’s obviously been some time since you’ve seen her and if you like her, you like her. I won’t stand in the way of that.”

Eve was grateful that Dina wasn’t mad. However, this whole analysis of her and the blonde’s relationship wasn’t helpful. She was working at MI6, but Eve didn’t want to be profiled. She did not like Villanelle like  _ that _ . But yes, she was right in that they had a ‘weird history’. She wasn’t going to point out how Dina was wrong in pretty much everything else she said.

“Thank you for understanding,” Eve tried to smile, “Friends?” Friends would be easiest, for now. Until Eve sorted out  _ all _ her feelings.

“Of course, silly!” She slapped her hands on the bar top, “I’m gonna have to show you around MI6 at one point!”

“Oh my god, don’t tease me like that.”

“Always will.” Dina winked and turned to refill for a customer.

\-------------

Eve’s weekend passed in a blur. She mostly spent it grading exams, slightly hungover. Her students were doing fine though, if you were wondering. She liked testing them as often as she could, just to keep their minds active. However, when she gave them an exam, she sometimes forgot that  _ she’d  _ be the one marking them. Exams gave good information on what the students were struggling with and what they needed to work on but it was still very time-consuming. 

When she begrudgingly arrived at her class on Monday morning, she was greeted with Elena and a young man who she assumed to be Kenny.

“Eve, good morning!” She was sitting on the professor’s chair, Kenny sitting across from her, “I got you coffee.” She gestured to the  _ four _ coffee cups in the middle of the desk, on top of her papers. This was a weird morning. Why were there four? Did Elena get her a second one? That would be nice, she needed it.

“Morning, thanks.” She awkwardly stood in front of her assistant, since she was in her chair, but Elena picked up on this. She stood up, moving to the seat beside Kenny.

“This is Kenny, we were at breakfast and I thought he should see where the magic happens.”

“Hi, Eve. I’ve heard quite a bit about you.” He chuckled awkwardly. 

Right before the professor was going to comment on that, she heard a voice bellow from the other end of the hall.

“Can you hear my echo, echo, echo?” Villanelle yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth, from the last row of the lecture hall. 

Had she been here this whole time? Eve must’ve been so tired she missed her when she walked in, she was too focused on Elena’s boyfriend(?). The professor froze, looking up from her coffee and at the blonde who was walking down the stairs toward her.

“Villanelle went to…uhm breakfast too.” Elena mumbled, awkward. Luckily, they only had a few minutes before class started.

“So  _ professor,”  _ She sauntered down the stairs, looking around the lecture hall, slightly nostalgic, “What is it you’re teaching nowadays?” Eve thought she’d find a hint of animosity in the question but, surprisingly, she didn’t. The blonde actually seemed curious.

“Criminology.” She replied, briefly. It was too early to indulge in a conversation, especially one with Villanelle. However, Eve found herself more open to the idea that the woman she was looking at  _ was  _ an older and more mature version of Oksana. 

“Oooo,” Villanelle’s eyes widened, finally making eye contact with the professor, “Criminology.” The other woman repeated. 

She was different today, Eve thought. More unadulterated but more genuine. The blonde had barely said anything so it was weird how the professor could sense this but, to be fair, she’d always understood the younger woman. It was why they’d gotten along so well when they first met. 

Elena and Kenny were looking at each other, ready to sprint out of the room. Unfortunately, Eve’s assistant needed to stay.

“I’m gonna head out,” Kenny stood up, “You coming, V?” 

“Actually, Eve,” The professor still liked how her name rolled out of her mouth with  _ that _ accent, “I was wondering if I could stay. Watch.”

Eve and Elena were both confused. Elena understood after a second, Eve didn’t.

“Watch?”

“Your lecture. Can I watch?” She asked again, now in front of the professor’s desk.

“Oh,” Eve didn’t usually do this and she was shocked that the blonde asked. Why did she want to stay? What would she gain from sitting in on her lecture? It’d probably bore her to death, right? Still, Eve was curious. She had to see what the blonde wanted, so she indulged. Also, students were starting to come in and she needed to say something quickly. “Yeah, I guess. You can sit next to Elena.” She gestured to the few seats in the front.

Villanelle nodded, smiling slightly, and went over to sit down. Elena hugged Kenny goodbye and the young man left. The class was due to start, the lecture hall was starting to fill with her students and Eve was nervous. She was never nervous about her lectures. She knew what she was doing and what she was talking about, it was one of the areas in her life that she was very confident in.

Ironically enough, a lot of that confidence had come  _ from _ Oksana when she was studying to be a professor. But, right now, Eve wasn’t confident. She was standing at her desk, looking over her notes that she’d memorized, trying to sip her coffee but her hand was shaking. She could  _ feel  _ Villanelle’s eyes on her from the front row.

“‘Morning class,” She tried to feign calmness so she put on her glasses as she stepped to the front of her desk. She leaned against it, her hands on the wooden desk, and looked up at the back of the room, “Today we’re learning about psychopathy and its common misconceptions.” She made the mistake of looking down toward Villanelle and Eve saw she went completely stiff. 

Then, the professor remembered. Shit.

_ It was a few weeks after they kissed. They were both attempting to pretend it never happened. Well, Eve was. Oksana wasn’t going to mention it, knowing Eve wouldn’t want to talk about it, but she definitely wasn’t going to forget it. It did hurt that the brunette wanted to pretend it didn’t happen since it had meant so much to the blonde, but she cared a lot about the other woman. So, Oksana would do whatever Eve wanted. _

_ The blonde was studying… something at a local café. She could barely focus. Eve was sitting in front of her, also studying. She had her glasses on as she was writing something down and Oksana was staring, she couldn’t help it. She really liked Eve, she liked spending time with her, she liked talking to her. She liked all of it. She especially liked her when she was wearing her glasses. They were sexy, okay? _

_ “What are you reading?” The blonde asked, head resting on her chin. _

_ “Psychopathy.” Eve flipped the page, pushing up her glasses and not looking up at the younger woman. _

_ “You know my father used to call me a psychopath.” This was true but she really just wanted to get the other woman’s attention. And she did. _

_ “What?” She pulled her glasses off her face and looked up at the blonde, in confusion. _

_ Oksana didn’t think this one through. She didn’t like talking about her childhood. She had before, briefly, to Eve. The other woman had been very supportive, so she knew that Eve would be there for her if she did ever speak about her past again. It was another thing she liked about the brunette. Her undying support. _

_ “As a kid, he would say I was different and that I didn’t feel things like the other kids,” She shrugged, trying to play it off nonchalantly, “He’d say ‘ooh Oksana you are not a normal child, you are a psychopath.’”  _

_ “Oksana… I…”  _

_ “It’s okay, I’m over it.” Now she wanted to get back to whatever she’d been studying before. She looked down, trying to read the pages but she knew Eve’s eyes were still on her. _

_ “You know,” Eve wanted to change the subject because the blonde was visibly uncomfortable, but she didn’t want to leave it completely, knowing that Oksana rarely opened up, “There are so many misconceptions about psychopaths. Everyone thinks they’re these cold-blooded murderers but really they’re able to live a pretty normal life. And early childhood problems almost never directly indicate psychopathy. Most children grow out of what seems to be a disruptive disorder.” The blonde looked up at her while she talked and smiled. She knew the brunette was saying all this to make her feel better and it was working.  _

_ “How do you know if you are a psychopath?” _

_ “There are tests,” Eve explained, “There are also risk factors in childhood that can indicate a possibility of adult psychopathy. Bed-wetting, fire-starting, cruelty to animals. Things like that.” _

_ The blonde was silent and looked down, fidgeting with her thumb ring. _

_ “Oksana,” The brunette could sense her stillness, “Did you do any of those things?” _

_ She didn’t respond. She’d never been able to admit anything like this before. But when Eve put her hand on top of hers, she knew she’d be safe, no matter what she said.  _

_ “I set a fire once, at my middle school. No one was hurt. And,” She hesitated, “I was not… very nice to my pet rabbit.” _

_ “You know there’s nothing wrong with you, right?” Eve said after a moment, finally meeting with hazel eyes, “You are perfect, just the way you are.” _

_ Oksana’s heart must've jumped right out of her chest. No one made her feel so normal. _

_ What happened to them?  _

\----------------

“So, those are some common misconceptions when it comes to psychopaths and psychopathy,” Eve was finishing up her lecture, growing more comfortable as she talked, “It’s essential to remember that psychopaths are people too. We may not think so, immediately jumping to the idea that they’re scary murderers, but they can be people just like us. We need to treat them as such to learn more about them and their diagnosis.” She had avoided eye contact with Villanelle for most of the lecture, unable to look at her since she remembered the last time she’d talked about the misconceptions of psychopathy.

“Right,” The brunette looked at the clock on the side of the wall, “Time’s up. Please read the next chapter in your textbook and discussion is tomorrow with Elena down the hall. Thanks.” Students started packing up and exiting the hall.

When most of the students had left, Elena and Villanelle walked up to the professor who was back to her original position, leaning on the front of her desk.

“I’ll see you Wednesday, Eve?” Elena looked up from her phone.

“Yep, thanks. Let me know how the discussion goes.”

“Will do!” Her assistant chimed as she strolled out of the hall, texting on her phone.

Then, it was just Villanelle and Eve standing in front of each other in an empty lecture hall.

“So,” The professor started, “Did you… enjoy it?” She’d never heard of anyone ‘enjoying’ a lecture but she didn’t really know what else to say.

“It was interesting. Informative.” Villanelle nodded as she spoke, looking at something behind the professor. The brunette could sense the lecture was probably hard to listen to. A bad coincidence.

“I know that it might’ve been,” Eve gestured around with her hands, “Difficult to hear.” 

“Why?” Villanelle furrowed her brow, now fixed on Eve’s eyes. She was still wearing her glasses. They were the same ones, she recognized. And Villanelle still loved them. 

“It’s just that… it’s just that you said once that,” She was getting lost in hazel eyes, “That your dad called you a…”

“My  _ father _ called me a psychopath, yes.” It was an important distinction to Villanelle: father, dad. Very different.

“I’m sorry I…” She didn’t know why she even mentioned it. She was the one that said they didn’t need to talk about their past.

“Eve,” She put her hand on the professor’s shoulder, reassuring her, but the brunette felt the heat through her sweater, “You are a very good professor. I can see why so many students take your class. You do not have to apologize for what you teach.” She took her hand back down, not knowing why she put it on her shoulder to begin with. 

“Thanks.” Eve mumbled, unsure of what to say.  _ Villanelle _ hadn’t been this nice since… ever? What had changed?

Was it the other night?

“No problem, Eve. I’ll see you soon? Maybe at the gym?” The blonde started toward the exit, looking back at the professor.

“Okay, yeah.” Was all Eve could get out when she saw Villanelle smile at her as she walked out.

She'd missed that smile. A lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you still like this story! im doing my best to find time to continue writing it:)  
> comment or tweet me any comments, questions, concerns!
> 
> kira x


	8. Motivation!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eve goes back to V's Gym.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi - sorry schools been a lot so i haven't had any time to write, but here's a chapter. enjoy!

**Chapter 8**

Villanelle had talked to Konstantin that weekend and their conversation was why she was seemingly ‘nice’ to Eve when she visited her at Imperial. Sure, her and Eve’s conversation on Friday did make her more inclined to be ‘friendly’ toward the woman, but Konstantin’s words made her realize she _should_ be kinder. Their conversation went something like this:

_“What do you want?” The blonde was in a mood when she picked up the phone. She hadn’t had a morning jog and she was getting irritable._

_“Good afternoon to you too.” The Russian man laughed lightly._

_Villanelle didn’t respond but she was kind of happy he called. He always seemed to know how to fix her problems so maybe he could fix this one._

_“I just wanted to see how you are. I’ve only seen you once since the gym opened.”_

_“Well, you’re welcome to come anytime.” She mumbled sarcastically, setting the phone to speaker mode as she changed into navy leggings and a light blue tank top._

_“Чего ты сказала?” Konstantin knew Villanelle hated Russian. He said this anyway._

_“I will hang up on you!” She half-yelled as she put her leggings on._

_“You are in a mood, I see. What is the matter?” He asked, already knowing something was wrong._

_“None of your business.” She grumbled. She usually pushed people away when she didn’t want to talk about something. She did want to talk about it, but she didn’t know if anyone would understand. She hadn’t even told Konstantin the real reason she left London all those years ago. And now that reason was back and why she was in such a mood._

_“Mmm ok.” He smiled, knowing the blonde couldn’t see his grin and he had her wrapped around his finger. Konstantin was one of the only people who knew exactly how Villanelle worked and usually she was very ungrateful for that, but now wasn’t one of those times._

_“Ok, fine! You know how I left London 8 years ago?” She flopped onto her bed, knowing she’d work out later, and put the phone to her ear._

_“I recall.”_

_“Well, I left because of this person….” She was starting to get nervous. The only person she got nervous around was… well, she was about to get to that. “And now they are back.”_

_“Mmmm,” Konstantin had his suspicions at the time, he’d even met Eve briefly once when he went to see Oksana at Imperial. She was coming out of the blonde’s dorm and he had no idea who she was at the time. But Oksana had mentioned a ‘special friend’ to him before so he put two-and-two together. “And how does that make you feel?”_

_He kind of felt like a therapist. In a way, he kind of was._

_“I don’t know. Everything. Nothing. I don’t like it.”_

_“I know, you don’t like emotions very much, do you?” He chuckled._

_“What do I do? I want to keep ignoring her. She hasn’t been very….” Villanelle didn’t know the word. She thought Eve had been mean but then again, the blonde knew she hadn’t been very nice either._

_“Why have you been ignoring them? I thought you would want to… catch up?”_

_“No! I do not want to ‘catch-up,’” She used air quotes even though they were on the phone, just to prove a point to herself, “She was mean so I left. I would prefer not to relive it, Konstantin.”_

_“I see. But you’ve already seen this person? Is it possible to keep ignoring them?”_

_“It has proven to be difficult. She is friends with a friend of mine.”_

_“Yes, that might be difficult to ignore.”_

_“That’s it? That’s your advice? Something I already knew?” She wasn’t usually like this to Konstantin since he was the one that took her away from her father and she generally enjoyed his company. Maybe it was just the fact she hadn’t exercised yet. Maybe it was Eve._

_“Well, I don’t think you are going to like my advice.” He said, tentatively. Telling the blonde something she didn’t want to hear had proven burdensome in past experiences._

_“Just say it.” She sighed, closing her eyes. He was the only one she could talk to and she did need help._

_“I think you should get to know them.”_

_“But-”_

_“Let me finish. It has been 8 years, Villanelle. You are a completely different person to who you were 8 years ago, I mean you even changed your name. So, I’m sure this person is also very different. You should treat them as a new person and get to know them. Again.”_

_Okay, she had to admit this wasn’t a terrible idea. She had no idea what Eve was up to nowadays. Elena told her she was a professor but that was it. That’s all she knew. She didn’t even know if she was still married to that man. Well, she assumed not since Eve had kissed Dina but she had kissed her while she was still married, so Villanelle couldn’t be sure. She wanted to know. Villanelle wanted to know who Eve was now. And Konstantin was right, she'd become completely different. She wanted Eve to know who she was now too._

_“That’s not… terrible advice.” She struggled to give compliments to Konstantin. Like her, it would instantly go to his head._

_“I know, that is why I gave it.” He smirked._

_“You’re being annoying again,” She held the phone in front of her face and screamed, “GOODBYE KONSTANTIN!” And hung up, surprisingly satisfied with their conversation. She then exercised for a few hours and felt even better. She was going to try and get to know Eve…. again._

\--------------

Eve didn’t know why she was walking to V’s gym. She had no idea. She was trying to tell herself it was Elena and her saying she was going so they could work out together but the professor knew that wasn’t the _only_ reason. Not only did she not like exercise, but exercising with someone else sounded even worse.

It had been a few days since Villanelle sat in on her lecture. And she hadn’t stopped thinking about it. It was annoying since she still had to plan her other lectures, but she kept thinking ‘What if she watched this one? Would she enjoy it or would she think it’s boring?’ It had become such a problem that her class that afternoon had gone horribly. She stumbled on her words, forgot some of her notes, and even turned on the wrong PowerPoint. She was very happy Villanelle had _not_ been there. But, when Elena said she was heading to the gym later and wanted Eve to come with her, the professor didn’t say no. Instead, s he went home and changed. She did learn her lesson from last time, you _do_ have to dress cute to go to the gym. She thought this was absurd but she definitely didn’t want to stand out, however, not only did she have a very small amount of exercise clothes, she had even less _cute_ clothes. She finally settled on plain black leggings, a white tank-top, and a black sports bra. Her only sports bra. She thought she looked fine. 

On her walk there, she saw Bill coming from the other way. She assumed he must be going to a class but she hadn’t seen him in a couple of weeks. They talked on the phone every once in a while but their schedules were always too busy to find a time to get together.

“Bill!” She walked up to him, the older man looked up at her and smiled.

“Eve! I was just heading to my class, what are you doing… wearing… are you going to a gym? Are you okay?” He laughed.

“Wow, does _everyone_ think I’m out of shape?” She sighed, smiling.

“Oooo, who’s everyone? Am I missing some gossip? I must know now.”

“It’s nothing,” She waved her hand in dismissal. She’d just met Bill when Oksana left and she was in a… state. She never fully explained everything to him, but he did know of her. “An old friend just moved back to London.”

Bill gave her a look.

“Okay fine, do you remember when you first met me and I was a complete mess because of a… friend who left?” Bill nodded, his smile and curiosity growing, “Well, yeah she’s back.”

“And you’re going to work out with her?” He questioned, still hung up on the fact Eve was going to exercise willingly.

“Well,” She scratched her head for something to do with her hands, her hair was down and she realized she forgot a hair-band. Shit. She’ll ask Elena for one, “She kinda owns a gym. So no, I'm not working out _with_ her. But....” 

“Oh wow. Owning a gym, that’s quite impressive. However, I am still very confused. Why are you going to exercise? I thought you hated it.”

“I despise it, I just… I don’t know, I thought maybe I need to build a bit of endurance,” She shrugged, knowing that was complete bullshit, “And you know better than anyone those halls can get you out of breath.”

“I do I do,” He looked down and smiled, “Well, I gotta run but enjoy your workout and your friend,” He winked, starting to walk past Eve, “And your arse looks great in those leggings!” He waved and raced away.

\-----------

Eve opened the glass doors to the gym and was face-to-face with Kenny. She smiled, it was nice to see a familiar face, even though she didn’t know him that well yet.

“Hey, Kenny.” She walked up and rested her elbows on the desk.

“Oh, hi Eve. Elena mentioned you might come today.” 

“Yeah, I’m a little surprised I’m actually here, but why not right?” He laughed, trying to be polite, and Eve looked around, not seeing Elena or Villanelle, not that she was thinking about seeing the blonde, “Is Elena here?”

“Yep, she came a few minutes ago. I think she’s in the locker room,” He gestured behind him down the hall, “Did you want to start a membership while you're here?”

Eve gave him a confused look. She wasn’t shocked that he asked but she hadn’t thought about it. Did she want to continue coming here, despite this being Villanelle’s gym? They could run into each other… Also, how often would she even use this gym? Would she enjoy it or quit after a week?

“I’m required to ask, but you don’t have to. I’m sure Villanelle won’t mind you coming in.” Kenny obviously sensed Eve’s uncertainty.

_This_ did take the professor by surprise. Why would Villanelle not mind? Had she been talking about her? Eve wouldn’t care if she had but now she had to know… 

“Wait, why wouldn’t she mind?” She leaned forward. She really needed to know, for some reason.

“Oh uh, I guess I just assumed since you’re friends with Elena that she, you know-” Kenny was visibly flustered and started fiddling with things on the desk. Luckily, a certain blonde and teaching assistant rounded the corner.

“Eve! I must say I did not expect to see you here,” Villanelle beamed as she walked toward the desk wearing a matching pink sports bra and leggings, Elena walking next to her, “When Elena mentioned you were coming, I could not believe it.”

Eve was shocked at the normalcy of the comment. Sure it was _slightly_ mean, which seemed to be Villanelle’s style, but there was no open _hostility_ behind it. She was stunned for a second but then realized she actually needed to respond.

“Well, believe it.” She said, lamely, raising her hands as a gesture that she was indeed present. Could she be more awkward?

“And you’re here to…” Elena smirked, wanting Eve to say it.

“I’m here to exercise, Elena.” The professor rolled her eyes and turned toward the locker rooms, the blonde smiling at her as she walked away. She had to say she was happy Eve was here, even if she didn’t want to admit it. 

The professor dropped her bag into a locker and went back out to the main exercise room. She saw Elena in the back, running on a treadmill, and then she saw Villanelle. She was in front of the mirrors, doing biceps curls. 

Her hair was up in a high ponytail, her rose gold headphones on. She was sweating, with a large weight in each hand, alternating pulling one closer to her chest. Eve had to admit… it was really hot. The blonde was looking at herself in the mirror, grunting slightly as she lifted each heavyweight. The brunette kept staring at her muscles… with every flex, they became even larger. Eve had never been into the ‘muscular’ type but she couldn’t help look at Villanelle’s biceps, triceps, abs, and… 

“Eve?” The blonde set both weights on the floor, put her headphones around her neck, and looked up at Eve, smirking.

“Uh, yeah?” The professor shook her head, pulled out of her trance. How was the woman not panting or anything? Her breathing seemed perfectly normal.

“Do you need,” Villanelle started walking up to Eve, the brunette seeing her sweat beam under the fluorescent lights, “Help or something?” 

“I- I don’t really know what I’m doing, to be honest.” Eve finally looked around the room, anywhere but the woman in front of her.

  
“Well then, I will help you.” She turned for the back of the room and the professor really tried not to look at her ass in those leggings. She was finding herself feeling _a little_ more motivated to workout. It was definitely not because of the owner.

Definitely not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope yall are still enjoying this story! let me know if u got any comments, questions, or concerns:)
> 
> love u
> 
> kira x


	9. Membership

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eve works out at V's gym!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh im so sorry lack of updates, life has been HARD!

**Chapter 9**

“You said you wanted to work on your endurance right?” The blonde turned her head to the brunette as they walked toward the treadmills.

“Oh uh yeah, I guess.” She smiled to herself. It was a small thing to remember, the fact that she needed to build her stamina, especially since Villanelle was an expert on this sort of thing, but Eve still found it endearing. The professor met eyes with Elena who was just stepping off another treadmill, smirking at her as she went across the room toward the weights. Why was she smirking? Nothing was happening. Stop it Elena.

“Start on here,” Villanelle put her hand on one of the treadmill’s handles and looked back to the brunette, “Start at a low incline but increase the speed after about 5 minutes. Then keep up a good jog for about 10 minutes and then you can cool down,” Eve was nodding as she spoke but the words were going in one ear and out the other. 

She could see how much the blonde knew about physiology and it was… attractive. The professor tried to tell herself that anyone who had a passion was attractive and that it wasn’t just Villanelle, “And that will help me assess your level more accurately so we know when to increase the intensity. Eve? Did you get that?”

Oh god, she missed most of it, if not all of it.

“Yep yep, start at a small incline and then go faster.” Eve stepped onto the treadmill, the blonde still resting her arm on the handle, looking up at her.

“Don’t go too hard, you don’t want to pull… anything,” The blonde traced her eyes over the brunette’s legs and she had to admit that those leggings suited her. Eve didn’t know how to act since Villanelle wasn’t very subtle. Oksana never was either but then again, she hadn’t seen her in 8 years. Old habits die hard, Eve assumed. She wanted to know what other old habits the blonde still had… 

“You did stretch right?” Villanelle kicked back to gym-owner mode and looked back up at Eve, whose face was bright red. The professor shook her head.

“Tsk tsk Eve,” The blonde tutted, gesturing for the professor to follow her back to the front of the room where she’d first been doing bicep curls, “Stretching before exercise will allow your muscles to loosen up which reduces the chance of injury. And I’m  _ not _ letting you get injured because  _ you _ forgot to stretch.” She looked at Eve and the professor was shocked to actually see some form of concern in her eyes. Did she have that for all her customers? Did she help all her patrons with their workouts like this? If not, why was she doing it for Eve?

“So we will start with our hamstrings,” Eve loved the way her accent curled around that word, she couldn’t lie, she definitely missed her accent, “Keep your feet shoulder width apart,” Villanelle stood, extending her legs outward and the professor couldn’t help but notice the muscles in her thighs, “Then extend your left leg but keep your toes pointed up and your heel on the ground. And keep your hips back,” She held her hips and Eve was noticing everything about the other woman. The way her forearm muscles flexed as she put her hands on her hips, her calf muscle as she pushed her leg outward, her fucking abs which infuriated Eve but she knew she’d gotten those within the past 8 years and they were annoyingly  _ perfect _ , “Then reach your left hand down to your left foot but keep your leg straight throughout the stretch,” She bent down and now Eve could only notice her ass in those stupidly bright leggings. Come on, this wasn’t fair. I guess this was why Eve was at the gym. Whether it was for Villanelle or to build her endurance, she doesn’t  _ exactly _ know, “Hold the stretch for 30 seconds then do the other side.” She stood up gesturing for Eve to do what she just demonstrated. 

“Okay... oh! Do you have an extra hair tie? I forgot mine.” Eve was about to mimic what Villanelle had just done but realized her hair was still down.

“Oh,” Oksana had mentioned frequently how much she loved the brunette’s hair, “Here.” She handed the professor a hair band from her wrist and stared, eyes wide, as Eve put it up into a ponytail. Yup, she still  _ loved _ her hair.

The professor then tried to recreate the pose the blonde was just in but she had no idea if she was doing it right. Luckily, she didn’t have to wonder because Villanelle examined her and eventually bent down on a knee to straighten out Eve’s left leg. Don’t blame her, it hurt when she didn’t bend it, but she assumed that was kind of the point.

Villanelle put a hand on Eve’s thigh and one on her calf, holding the leg straight. The professor could barely focus because she realized how close their faces were. The blonde was kneeling on the ground and Eve was bending down, their eyes on the same level now. She barely noticed the pain building up in her leg. 

The blonde tried not to make eye contact with the professor, trying to focus on helping her perform the stretch correctly, but she moved her eyes up slightly and was immediately met with those brown eyes. Neither of them liked the tension but neither of them wanted it to end.

“Does it hurt?” She whispered, her hands not moving from the brunette’s leg. Why did she whisper? It wasn’t a weird thing to say and they were in  _ her  _ gym after all. She had always done stupid things around the brunette. For the brunette.

Let’s call it The Eve Effect. 

“Yeah.” Eve breathed, the pain now shooting up her entire leg.

“We can switch legs now,” Villanelle quickly stood, the brunette missing her touch, and went to her other side.

Eve did a few more exercises, trying to focus on warming up her muscles, before Villanelle guided her back to the treadmill.

“Here I will set you up,” She pushed some buttons on the treadmill’s control board and then looked back at Eve, “I will be over there if you need me or if you pass out.” She gestured to the front and winked, leaving the brunette speechless. How did this woman have such an effect on her? Eve never felt like this with anyone before. She controlled her thoughts, emotions, even her decisions. She  _ chose _ to go to this gym… right?

Eve got on the treadmill and started jogging, slowly. When she looked up, she saw Villanelle at the front, talking to some woman. She looked familiar. The brunette remembered her, it was Nadia. Eve met her briefly after that first spin class. 

The brunette could tell Nadia was flirting across the room, she was touching the blonde affectionately and laughing after  _ everything _ Villanelle said. Eve was feeling jealous, but she didn’t know that nor would she ever admit it. She just thought that Villanelle should be working out, not chatting in a gym. That was gym etiquette, right? Eve didn’t know but she  _ did  _ know that she was running faster. A lot faster. She didn’t even feel the lactic acid build in her legs. All she could feel was  _ whatever _ she was feeling as she watched Villanelle. 

After a few minutes, Nadia turned and left down the hall. Eve felt… relieved. But only for a moment because the blonde pulled out a mat and started doing push-ups. Fucking push-ups. The brunette was trying to focus on her incline, on her speed, on her running, on anything other than the blonde. But she kept staring at Villanelle, at  _ her  _ muscles, at  _ her  _ body, at  _ her…  _ everything. Eve never knew she could be attracted to someone sweating and grunting on a mat in a gym but… fuck. Villanelle was  _ very much  _ in shape. 

The treadmill started to slow on its own, Eve assumed the blonde had put a certain time limit on it, and eventually it came to a complete stop. The brunette noticed how sweaty she was but she’d only been jogging for 15 minutes. The weird thing was, she didn’t feel  _ that _ tired so maybe this gym idea was a good thing after all. She stepped off the treadmill and pulled her shirt up to wipe off the sweat from her forehead. When she looked up, she saw Villanelle…  _ staring _ at  _ her.  _

Obviously, the blonde still found the professor attractive. She had 8 years ago and that wasn’t going to change now. She had a type. But, if anything, she found Eve  _ more _ attractive. So, when she saw Eve’s stomach as she lifted her shirt, the blonde froze. Too many memories came flooding back. She didn’t even realize she’d been caught until Eve was walking up to her.

“Thank you for the…” The brunette gestured back toward the treadmill. Why she was thanking her, Eve had no idea. It was her job but the professor still felt like she had to, for some reason.

“No problem, Eve. I hope it helps. Endurance is a tough one, you will have to work at it.”

“Yeah, will do.” 

The professor was weirdly excited to workout again. Other than seeing Nadia flirt with Villanelle, she actually enjoyed the gym. She felt relaxed but also energized. She didn’t know how to explain it but she enjoyed the feeling. What she didn't like was whatever was happening with Villanelle. 

She didn’t know what they were - friends? Acquaintances? What did the blonde think of her, after all this time? What did she think of the blonde, after all this time? The fact that she didn’t hate her made her question everything. She  _ should  _ hate her. But she couldn’t. When she thought of Oksana, she thought of the happiness and joy the other woman made her feel. She still felt that when she thought about Villanelle. Sure, there was hurt and pain, but the happiness was all she could focus on. The way Oksana spoke French, the way Oksana always picked Disney movies to watch, the way Oksana loved the snow. Did Villanelle feel the same about those things? It was all Eve could think about and she  _ needed _ answers.

“Well, I hope to see you here again. You’re welcome anytime.” The blonde smiled, not wanting Eve to leave, but was happy that the brunette actually came to her gym.

At first, she didn’t want to see Eve anywhere near here but now all she wanted was for the brunette to continue to come. The blonde realized she liked seeing her. Just seeing her. She didn’t want to talk, just in case they’d talk about the past, and she didn’t want to touch her… just in case, she started feeling what she used to feel. But, Villanelle was now realizing, it was way too late for  _ that _ . She  _ was  _ feeling everything she felt and more. Konstantin, unfortunately, was right. She needed to get to know Eve… again if she was ever going to get these feelings under control. 

“Can I start a membership?” Eve asked, knowing that would be the perfect way to continue to see the blonde. She needed to figure out what she was feeling and why. She needed answers and to do so, she needed to know who  _ Villanelle _ is. 

“Oh you- yeah, you can, of course,” Villanelle hated how she stuttered. She didn’t want her shock to be visible. She hadn’t expected Eve to  _ want _ to come back. She wanted her to but the way the brunette had spoken to her outside Dina’s bar, Villanelle assumed she just wanted their relationship to be cordial and polite, “Hugo is at the front, he can do it for you.”

“Okay, thanks Vil.” Eve didn’t realize she used a nickname until she was in front of Hugo at the front desk. The blonde noticed it immediately, but luckily her back was turned and Eve didn’t see her reaction. Elena did, however. She had been doing goblet squats a few feet away from the two women. She was definitely  _ not _ eavesdropping. Her headphones just happened to be at a very low volume.

“Oooo, going by nicknames now, I see.” Elena chimed, walking up to the blonde.

“What? No. What are you talking about?” Ew, Villanelle thought, how did Eve turn her into  _ this _ ?

“Uh huh ok. Play dumb, that’s fine.” Elena smirked as she walked away, meeting Eve in the locker room. 

The professor signed up for a membership, not realizing how much a gym membership cost. Luckily, her rent was relatively cheap and V’s gym wasn’t as much as its competitors. Also, Eve didn’t have any other way of seeing Villanelle. Well, the brunette couldn’t think of any other way. She  _ could _ just ask her out for drinks or invite her to another lecture. She  _ could  _ do so many things but Eve was scared and confused. She was scared because she didn’t want history to repeat itself. If she became closer to Villanelle, would everything happen all over again? And she was confused because she didn’t know how the blonde felt. To be fair, Oksana had always kept her cards close to her chest, but, back then, she’d open up to Eve every once and while. However, now, she had  _ no idea _ what Villanelle was thinking. It’s been 8 years since she last heard how the blonde felt.

“So, Vil, huh?” The assistant smiled into her locker, which was conveniently next to Eve’s. The professor was changing out of her workout clothes and ruffling her hair out. 

“Shut up, I didn’t even realize I said it.”

Elena hummed as a response, still smirking. 

“I just,” Eve slammed her locker shut, “I don’t know what it is about her. She is just… a mystery, you know? Still is. 8 years ago, I thought I understood her but I don’t know anymore.”

“And that caused you to call her ‘Vil’?”

“I guess so?” Eve had no idea. 

“I see. Well,” Elena also shut her locker, “Maybe you should find out what  _ it _ is about her, since you obviously want to know so bad.” She smiled and nudged the professor, turning toward the exit.

“How am I supposed to do that? You saw how she yelled at me at the bar. She’s  _ definitely _ still angry. I don’t understand why though since she’s the one that left and I--”

“You stayed. I know. That’s not my point,” Elena held the door for the professor as they walked down the hall to the front of the gym, “I just mean that if you want to learn more about her, it shouldn’t be that hard. You signed up for a membership here,  _ I’m _ friends with her, my boyfriend works with her…”

“Boyfriend, huh?” 

“Yeah, it’s new, stop getting off-topic,” Elena pointed a dramatic finger at the brunette, “Learn about the girl, she obviously wants to do the same. Did you see her staring at you today, after all this time? You never told me  _ why _ she left exactly, but you can tell she still cares about you.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” Eve mumbled, feeling dizzy with all this common-sense. Elena was too smart for her own good. Her assistant didn't even know what had happened but she could tell Eve exactly what to do and when to do it. Very annoying.

“What did happen?  _ Vil  _ wouldn’t tell me about it either.” She had to emphasize the nickname again, she had to. Also, she was very curious, sometimes  _ too _ curious.

“We just had a,” Eve paused, seeing Villanelle at the front of the gym again, talking to a woman. Again. But this time, Eve didn’t recognize who the blonde was talking to. She must’ve been a customer because Villanelle was showing her around, similar to how she had done earlier with Eve. The brunette couldn’t help feel a slight pang in her chest, “A disagreement.”

“If I buy you a drink, will you elaborate?”

“Two drinks,  _ then _ you have a deal.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed!! lmk what u think on here or twitter:)  
> love yall
> 
> kira x


	10. Did I ruin your life?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More of Eve and Villanelle's history is revealed...

**Chapter 10**

Elena led Eve to the same bar. Dina’s bar. As they approached the entrance, the professor gave her a look.

“Oh my god, I texted Dina, she’s not working today.” Elena rolled her eyes as she walked into the bar.

They went in, sat down at a booth, and ordered drinks (Elena paid). Eve was nervous. Her assistant said Dina wasn’t here but the professor couldn't help but think of the what-ifs. What if she picked up another shift or came early for the night shift? Eve didn’t want to face her. Sure, their last interaction hadn’t been bad, but it was awkward. At least it was for Eve. 

She kissed the woman to piss another woman off. Dina was kind, sweet, pretty much everything that Eve wanted in a partner. She was a woman, but the professor had never been one for labels. Still, she wasn’t the type of person to incite jealousy, she never cared about that stuff. But, that's what she did to Dina and Villanelle, isn’t it? She wanted to get a reaction from the blonde and she used her _ex-student_ to do that. She exploited her. Eve never thought she would exploit anyone, she was a criminology  _ professor,  _ not a  _ criminal.  _ She felt awful about what she did to Dina. She deserved better.

While she thought of Dina, the brunette also thought about Villanelle. _What_ she was doing, _why_ she was doing it, _who_ she was doing. The fact that Nadia was flirting with Villanelle today… That made Eve feel _a lot of things._ Things she didn’t want to admit she _still_ felt. Maybe they never went away. Maybe they were just pushed down, further and further until Eve couldn’t actively feel them anymore. And maybe now, they were all coming back up.

“You’re acting weird.” Elena looked at Eve, dead in the eye.

“No, I’m not.” The professor’s leg was bouncing and she was fidgeting with her glass. She was acting weird.

“Is it about Dina? I told you, she’s not here.”

“No no, it’s not her. Well, it is. But it isn’t. I don’t know.” She sighed, putting her head in her hands.

“She talked to me about you, you know,” Elena smirked into her drink. Devil.

Eve shot back up, giving her assistant a look. 

“She likes you. But, she doesn’t wanna be second place, ‘know what I mean?” 

“Second place? What? Why would she think that?” Eve tried to play dumb. She hadn’t told Elena  _ exactly _ what Dina had said to her at the bar, but Dina knew about Villanelle… at least a little bit. I mean, she and Eve did yell at each other while they were at her bar.

“Come off it, I’m talking about Villanelle. You literally  _ ran _ after her while you were snogging Dina.” Elena started to laugh. Eve didn’t find it funny.

“I just- I saw her pass and I…” Eve sighed, she didn’t know why she ran after her. She knew why she kissed Dina so she assumed it was all to get a reaction from Villanelle. Maybe get some revenge. Something.

“I wanted to piss her off.” The professor admitted.

“And kissing Dina in front of her did that?” Elena gave her a very questioning look.

“Well, I thought it might. When she left she-” Eve stopped herself. She’d never told Elena what had happened. What the blonde had said to her.

“She what? Come on, Eve! The curiosity is killing me. Please tell me what happened between you two! I wanna know!” Her assistant practically begged, she even banged on the wooden table. 

Eve took down the two shots that were sitting in front of her, knowing she’d need the liquid courage. Then she began. The memories of that night started flowing back to her.

_ It was several months after they had kissed. It was exam season. Well, the end of exam season. Oksana had just finished her last final and met Eve for dinner. They frequently went out to eat, they’d been to the cinema, and even watched movies in Oksana’s dorm. Oksana had only been to Eve’s house once. The brunette didn’t want the blonde around her husband. Church and State, kind of thing. Oksana didn’t question it, however, she thought about it a lot. They weren’t having an affair, were they? They kissed once, then never talked about it again. Sure, they flirted from time to time, or at least Oksana thought they were flirting, but it never went any further. _

_ “Hey, how was your exam?” The brunette said as the blonde sat across from her. It wasn’t a fancy place, but it was theirs. It was a café right on campus, near enough to Oksana’s dorm, the school, and Eve’s house. “What was it, geology?” _

_ “Close, history.” She smirked at her and the table. Eve had already bought their food. She knew the blonde’s order by heart. Double cheeseburger and fries. And a chocolate milkshake, of course. _

_ “Right, sorry.” Eve shook her head.  _

_ She’d had a lot going on lately. Niko fights had been more frequent, Uni was getting harder as she was getting close to graduating, and her feelings for Oksana were getting more confusing. She loved spending time with the other woman, enough so that she rather spend time with her than her own husband. Another reason for the Niko fights. Almost all of her free time was spent with Oksana or studying and not with Niko. He didn’t like that.  _

_ Eve was confused, to say the least. She should want to spend time with her husband, she should want to tear his clothes off, she should want to run home to him as soon as possible but… she didn’t want any of those things. Her mind was constantly elsewhere… it was constantly on Oksana. _

_ They ate pretty quickly, both of them hungry from their long days. They were walking around now, going nowhere in particular. Eve knew they were close to her house but she wasn’t necessarily leading them there. _

_ “You okay? You seem… distant.” The blonde continued to walk, all while staring at Eve. _

_ “Sorry, I don’t mean to be. I just…” Eve sighed, she knew she could talk to Oksana about anything but talking about her feelings toward Niko felt off-limits. They’d kissed and even though they agreed to forget it happened, it still felt wrong to talk about her husband. When she mentioned him in passing, she could feel the blonde stiffen. However, when Eve and Niko had a fight, she was always there for her. She always comforted her. The brunette was beyond thankful. She had no idea what she’d do without her. “It’s Niko. I don’t know, I just feel weird when I’m around him, I don’t know why.” _

_ “Weird?” Oksana asked. Eve couldn’t help but smile, she still had ketchup and mustard around her lips. Could she reach out and wipe it? Would the blonde back away?  _

_ “Yeah weird. Uncomfortable maybe?” Eve decided to reach out, turning her body and rubbing off the sauce from the blonde’s lips with her thumb, Oksana’s heart may have skipped a beat, “Whenever I’m around him, I don’t really feel… anything.” _

_ “I feel things when I’m with you,” Oksana said, becoming more confident in speaking about her feelings for Eve. She hadn’t suppressed her feelings but she hadn’t spoken about them so openly. Especially not to Eve. She saw how the brunette reacted after their kiss and she wasn’t going to risk her leaving. She wouldn’t be able to handle it. _

_ “I feel things when I’m with you, too.” Eve smiled, it was nice to hear someone say that. It should be her husband, but she did feel things around Oksana. She couldn’t lie to her. They were too close. _

_ “Why don’t you leave him?” The blonde looked ahead now, not wanting to look at Eve’s face when she asked this.  _

_ “Leave him?” They arrived at the brunette’s house, the lights were on. Niko was home. “I love him.” _

_ “No, you don’t.” Oksana basically laughed, “You just said you didn’t feel anything around him. You feel things around me, not him.” _

_ “That’s not…” Eve shook her head, stopping at the front steps. _

_ “That’s not right? Really Eve? You do not love him. You love me.” She was looking right into the brunette’s eyes, standing under the porchlight. _

_ “No, I don’t. Not like that, Oksana.” Eve whispered, continuing to shake her head. She wouldn’t say it any louder, it was hard enough to deny it. Those stupid hazel eyes. _

_ “Eve, you’re mine.” The blonde took a step forward, trying to wrap her arms around the brunette, but Eve stepped back. “And I am yours. Do you not understand that?” _

_ “Oksana, I can’t, okay? Yes, there’s obviously something here,” She gestured between them, “But I can’t act on it. It wouldn’t be fair.” _

_ “It wouldn’t be fair to who? Him?” Oksana looked at the door, “Think about yourself for once. You always think of everyone else’s needs before your own, but what do you want? Who do you want, Eve?” She started to lean closer, closing the distance between them on the brunette’s small stoop. _

_ “I want you, obviously.” She did feel some weight lift off her shoulder when she said this, but, as she said, it wasn’t that simple. _

_ “Obvious to who?” Oksana smirked, E _ _ ve gave her a look.  _

_ “I spend all my time with you. I think about you all the time. Of course, I want you. I always have, but it’s not that simple.”  _

_ “Why not? I want you, you want me.” Oksana huffed. Villanelle had matured quite a bit in the last 8 years now. She knew it was more complicated. It doesn’t mean she liked that part of relationships, but she wasn’t as naive as Oksana had been.  _

_ “Because I have a life! I have a house, a husband, a future career!” _

_ “You can still have all those things! Not a husband, but the rest, you can have!” They were slightly yelling now. Hopefully, Niko was upstairs and wouldn’t hear them.  _

_ “Oksana, it’s just really complicated.” Eve put her head in her hands, exhausted. She didn’t think the night was going to go this way. Could she go back like two hours? _

_ Complicated. That stupid word. _

_ “I see,” Oksana pursed her lips, she felt her heart breaking in her chest and Eve slipping away from her, “Do you care about me, Eve? Do I matter to you?” _

_ “Of course you do. Don’t be silly.” _

_ “Would you care if I was gone?” The brunette’s eyes perked up then, staring into hazel. _

_ “Oksana, yes. Yes, I would care.” She put her hands on the blonde’s sides. Just to reassure her. _

_ “But you do not love me?” Oksana always had a hard time with love. She never really knew what it meant or how it felt. Her parents never showed it to her. Konstantin had, but that was a different kind of love. The love she had for Eve… there were no words to explain it. _

_ “I…” The brunette sighed, “I don’t know.” She had to tell the truth. She didn’t know if she loved Oksana, she didn’t know if she loved Niko. She thought she did, but the blonde had made her question a lot. _

_ “You don’t know,” Oksana stepped down a couple of steps, looking up at the night sky, “You don’t know a lot of things.” _

_ “What?” _

_ “You don’t know if you love me, you don’t know if you love him, you don’t know how you feel about me at all, really. You don’t know if you love women--” _

_ “Oksana, stop it.” Eve had enough by that point. She was confused but she didn’t need to be ridiculed for it. By someone she trusts so much, nonetheless. _

_ “I am just trying to understand, Eve!” The blonde waved her arms around, turning back to look up at the brunette. “Why can’t you love me like I love you?” _

_ “I don’t know, Oksana! I don’t fucking know. I wish I did! I wish I knew how I felt about you, about Niko, about everything so I wouldn’t have to be yelling at you on my front porch!” _

_ “Did I ruin your life? Do you wish you never met me?” Oksana felt tears on her cheek. She didn’t want to bring attention to them by wiping them away but her vision was getting blurring because of them. She wiped them quickly, hoping the brunette wouldn’t notice. If she did, she didn’t say anything. Eve knew better. _

_ “Oh god, I don’t know…” Eve sighed. The blonde didn’t ruin her life, if anything, she had made it better. But she did complicate it. Regardless, Eve can’t picture her life without her. _

_ “Well, I will make it easy for you, then. I’ll leave.” The blonde turned and walked down the rest of the stairs. She was angry now. Sad, yes, but furious. Eve couldn’t just admit she felt the same. She couldn’t admit that she wanted her in her life? The blonde figured the only way to make herself feel better was to leave before Eve got the chance to. _

_ “What? What do you mean leave?” The brunette started to follow but only got halfway down the short staircase. Was Oksana serious, or was she just being dramatic? She had the tendency for theatrics but she looked dead-serious. _

_ “I will leave. You will never have to see me again. I will never make you feel like you do now ever again.” She started to step back, tears still in her eyes. Didn’t she just wipe them away? _

_ “Don’t be like this, okay? Don’t leave. Please.” _

_ “Why not? I’ve obviously confused everything for you, I fucked up everything. I always do, eventually.” _

_ “Stop that. Don’t do that.” _

_ “I can’t do this anymore, Eve. I can’t do this stupid game with you,” She ran her hands through her hair, trying to calm herself but it wasn’t working. She was furious, “You have no idea what you make me feel. And I know you feel the same. But you will never admit that. I can’t continue to be around you, my heart hurts, Eve. It hurts.” Do you ever have those moments so filled with sadness that your emotional pain becomes physical?  _

_ “But... I don’t want you to leave.” Eve was crying now. Oksana had been the majority of her life for almost a year. She meant so much. She wasn’t actually leaving, was she? _

_ “You know I have to, Eve.” The blonde turned, looking at the brunette once more before continuing down the street. It hurt even more because the brunette did know she had to leave. This conversation, along with whatever had led up to it, was way too strong for both of them to be so intertwined in each other’s lives any longer.  _

_ “Oksana! Please!” She heard Eve yell after her. She let the tears flow as she picked up her pace into the London night. She booked a flight for Paris as soon as she got back to her dorm. She was in France the next day.  _

_ She got a new phone and deleted Eve’s number. She knew it off by heart so it didn’t really matter how many new phones or numbers she got. Regardless, she never called or texted the brunette again. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi yall! sorry for the lack of updates! i broke my wrist so it is v difficult to type :/// but i hope you enjoy this! bear w me on the updates plz <3   
> thx for all ur continued support, ur comments mean the world, truly
> 
> love yall  
> kira x


	11. The Eve Effect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eve decides it's time for her and Villanelle to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi!!! im sorry its been so long! i literally haven't been able to write. schools been so hectic and finals are here and UGH. anyway, im gonna do my best to continue writing bc i love this story and i hope u do too!!! and thank u for all ur kind wishes about my wrist, its healing nicely<3

**Chapter 11**

“Shit, Eve,” Elena was intently listening as Eve recalled  _ that  _ night and all the painful details, “She told you she  _ loved _ you?”

“Yup…” The professor looked down at her drink, almost empty. She felt annoyingly sober.

“And you said you didn’t love her and she left right then? You never heard from her again?”

“Yup,” Eve wasn’t really listening but her assistant’s words finally registered, “Well, I never said I  _ didn’t  _ love her, I said it was complicated. I was married!” 

“Yeah, I remember Niko,” Elena nodded, knowing about Eve’s recent divorce, despite how little the professor talked about it, “Did you?” She asked after a moment.

“Did I what?” The professor furrowed her brow.

“Love her.”

“Oh god, Elena. I don’t fucking know.” She groaned.

“After all this time you still don’t know?” Elena was hiding a smirk.

“You really know how to make me feel better. Thanks,  _ friend. _ ” 

“ _ Best friend _ ,” She pointed a finger at the brunette, “And I’m just saying. Sure, you may not have known  _ then _ but seeing her  _ now,  _ you must have some idea of how you feel or how you felt, right?”

Eve shrugged. “When I was with her, I just felt… a lot. I didn’t know  _ what _ those feelings were exactly, I just knew there were a lot of them. And that scared me so much that I didn’t want to figure out what they were,” Elena was giving her a look, “God, that made no sense.” The professor put her head in her hands.

“No no, it kind of does,” Her assistant tried to reassure her even though she didn’t really understand what the brunette was saying, “How can we fix... this?” She gestured to Eve’s general area.

“Fuck if I know. She could just leave and my problems would be solved… again.” She finishes off her drink, the alcohol was finally hitting her.

“Eve.” 

“What?” The professor held her hands out, questioning. It was kinda mean, but unfortunately, kinda true.

“Look, I don’t want to play devil’s advocate here…”   


“Oh god,” Eve whispered under her breath, closing her eyes and preparing herself for what’s to come.

“But you obviously hurt her feelings a lot, she said she loved you and you straight up rejected her! Well, not straight since she’s a woman and you’re a--”

“Please get to the point.”

“I just mean you broke her heart. Shattered. Destroyed. Completely and utterly--”

“Elena!” Eve laughed, amused, and annoyed at her assistant’s rambling.

“You broke her heart and she broke yours. Simple as. Don’t you think it’s time to talk it out? Like the adults, you both are now? Hmm?”

“What would I even say? Sorry I didn’t know how I felt about you? You were a teenager and I was 20 years older than you and had a husband so I was a  _ bit _ confused?” Eve chuckled at the absurdity of it all. When did her life turn into this? Oh right, a few weeks ago.

“You summed it up pretty well, yeah.” Elena smiled into her drink, proud of her work. She did study psychology. 

“Shit. I’m really going to have to do this, huh?” She was nervous now. The idea of talking to Villanelle about what happened 8 years ago was scarier than anything. 

“Yup. Cheers.” 

\------------

It was Friday morning.

Villanelle was on the treadmill when she got a call. 

She’d spent the past few days exercising, obviously. She’d also met some women, brought them back to her place, and kicked them out when she was finished. She’d also tried a very good sushi place. All in hopes of distracting her. It’s what she did best. When something was bothering her and she couldn’t do anything about it, she’d find as many distractions as possible, and eventually, whatever was bothering her would go away.

That was not the case this time, however. 

It was frustrating. To have someone stuck in your mind, no matter how much work and effort you put into getting them out. Eve shouldn’t be stuck in her mind. She said hurtful things to the blonde years ago, things Villanelle would never forget. She’d made her feel safe and loved but took that away from her. Who could forgive someone after doing that? Apparently, Villanelle. 

Despite everything that had happened, she still wanted to see Eve again. Part of her wanted to go back to the way things were before. They were in each other’s lives. They mattered to each other. It wasn’t the way Oksana had imagined, but it was enough at the time. Oksana had been content… until she wasn’t. The other part of Villanelle, and probably part of Oksana, wanted more. She wanted to see where things could go with Eve. She thought she had loved her but that obviously wasn’t enough. 

What did Eve think now though? Was she impressed? With the gym, with her? Would she love her enough now? Could she? 

Then there was one part of Villanelle’s brain that was screaming ‘RUN! Don’t let her hurt you again! Protect yourself. Get out of there!’ That part of the brain kept getting quieter… and quieter… 

“Hello?” Villanelle answered, not recognizing the number.

“Villanelle?” Eve. She knew the American accent instantly. Eve was calling her? Eve had her number?

“Yes… Eve?”

“Yeah, uh hi. I got your number from Elena.” Well, more like the professor took Elena’s phone and copied her number. She knew her assistant would be supportive of her trying to make amends or talk it out, or whatever she was trying to do, but she also knew her best friend. The shit she’d make her do to get the blonde’s number… it was just easier to take her phone while she wasn’t looking.

“Okay…” Villanelle was very confused. So confused she ended her workout early. She stepped off the treadmill, walked to the back of the gym, and headed up the stairs to her apartment. Why was Eve calling? What did she want? 

“I just wanted to…” This was very difficult for the brunette, please do not judge her awkwardness, “Ask you to go to lunch. To talk.”

Villanelle had to hold back her laughter. This was so! Weird! What the hell was going on? If she were Oksana right now, she’d be bouncing off the walls, shrieking. But she was Villanelle now. She was an adult. Still, Eve asking her out to lunch? This was weird, no matter how much time had passed. Also, to talk? Talk about what?

“You are asking me out to lunch?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” She was smiling from ear to ear. The Eve Effect.

“Great!” Eve put her hand to her forehead, regretting how childish and high-pitched she sounded, “I don’t have a lecture until later so does today work? I can meet you at the gym.” 

The blonde was on Cloud 9. She hated it. Why did the brunette  _ still  _ make her feel this way? It was ridiculous. Also, the way Eve said ‘the gym’. She couldn’t but feel the domesticity of the phrasing. She was like that around Eve. She really hated it.

“Okay, I’ll see you soon, Eve.” She tried to say calmly, as she jumped toward her closet to find the  _ best  _ outfit to wear.

“Alright, see you soon, Vil.” The brunette quickly hung up. Not the nickname again, Eve!

“Fuck.” Eve sighed, this lunch will definitely be interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway, i hope u enjoy!!! i cant promise to post regularly, but im going to do my best to continue writing. 
> 
> comment any ideas you have for this story, id love to hear them!
> 
> my [twitter](%E2%80%9Cwww.twitter.com/villanellesgun%E2%80%9D) if u want it!
> 
> love u all, thanks for all u do
> 
> kira x


	12. Dreary and Dangerous Diners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eve and Villanelle FINALLY talk.

**Chapter 12**

As Eve was walking toward V’s gym, she felt her heart racing. She was very nervous. So nervous she changed her outfit three times. Three times! She never cared about what she wore, she simply liked turtlenecks and she liked comfy trousers. She just had to look presentable at her lectures, not necessarily  _ nice _ . Also, who cares what their professor wears? Focus on their lecture, not clothes! The point is, she realized she cared what  _ Villanelle _ thought. 

Oksana had been somewhat critical of the professor’s wardrobe but would drop it when Eve said so. Also, the young student had been figuring out her own style so she didn’t have as much time to focus on Eve’s. But the brunette knew now that Villanelle had  _ definitely _ found her style. When she saw her at the bar, even the professor could tell she was wearing designer clothes. She could also tell that she cared about what she wore to work-out. Clothes meant something to the gym owner. But, there were also… feelings. Eve cared  _ about  _ Villanelle, so she cared about her opinions, whether she agreed with them or not.

Villanelle believed clothes were a perfect way of expressing yourself without words. The clothes  _ were  _ words. She hated how Oksana dressed and when she moved to Paris, her wardrobe was another thing she changed. She wore whatever made her feel confident. She cared about how she looked and she wanted people to know that. Even when she was exercising, she had certain clothes to wear, because she wanted to look good while she was doing what she loved. She also wanted to look good  _ for _ others. To impress them. She wanted to prove to Eve who she was now. Who she’d become. She was someone new, someone much better and she wanted Eve to know it.

Eve was wearing a white button-up shirt and army green high-waisted trousers, with white boots. It was a very trendy look, at least by her standards. Villanelle, on the other hand, was sporting a very fluffy short pink dress.  _ Very  _ fluffy. She paired it with short black boots, ones that emphasized her calf muscles, not that they needed much emphasis. Her legs were something she had focused on for a while, with her running and all. They were muscular, but not too muscular that they took away from other parts of her body, you could  _ definitely _ see the curvature of her thigh and calf muscles. I mean Eve could, as she walked up to the front of the gym. You couldn’t really miss the pink dress.

“Hi,” Eve’s mouth was weirdly dry so she cleared her throat, “Nice... dress.”

“Thank you, Eve,” She did a little curtsy, emphasizing her legs even more without realizing it, “You look good too. Do you dress like this for all of your lunches?” She smirked, turning on her heels, and started walking down the street. Eve instinctively following next to her, rolling her eyes, not even bothering with a response.

They walked for a few minutes in somewhat comfortable silence. Well, it wasn’t silence. There were plenty of people on the street, cars, buses, all of that. So it wasn’t  _ silent,  _ there were just no words between  _ them. _

“Uh, where are we going?” The professor finally asked, realizing they’d never specified a place to eat. 

“I know a place.” The blonde simply said, looking ahead. Eve already knew better than to question her. It was weird. The two had been to lunch together countless times before. Cafes, expensive restaurants, even visited a couple of food trucks. But this lunch was very different. It didn’t even feel like it was them. In a way, it kinda wasn’t. One of them technically did change their name.

After a couple more minutes, they turned down a small street and arrived in front of a cute diner that was tucked away in a corner. Eve frowned. It looked like one you’d find in the rural USA. Not in London. Not in the UK period. But, then again, Oksana did always have a new restaurant for them to try so the professor wasn’t surprised that Villanelle had found this place. 

The blonde opened the glass door, holding it for Eve. The professor gave her an awkward smile and went in, Villanelle in tow. It was oddly bright in the diner, the sun’s rays gleaming off of the off-white marble. 

“Hello, Daria.” Villanelle grinned, smiling at the hostess, who had suddenly appeared out of thin air. “Is my usual seat free?” The hostess nodded.

Eve noticed the blonde seemed oddly comfortable here. She knew the hostess by name and had a ‘usual seat’. The professor couldn’t help but stare, the blonde's face seemed relaxed. Yet focused. It was a combination she’d only ever seen on Oksana 8 years ago. She was pulled from her trance when she realized the blonde was walking past the hostess and toward a booth by the window. Eve quickly followed.

Villanelle sat, the professor sitting across from her. The booths were red with a marble table in front of them and their menus already by the window. This felt oddly… American.  Anyway, without even saying a word, the blonde picked up a menu, quickly scanning the bright colors and words, fully knowing what she’d order. Eve looked at the menu but when she found ‘cheeseburger and fries’, her mind stopped reading the words. She was much more focused on what she was going to  _ say.  _ How would she start a conversation with the woman across from her? A woman who was now looking out the window, the bright sun spread across her face, emphasizing her annoyingly perfect skin and eyes. 

It was funny, though. The blonde was thinking the same thing. Not about her skin or eyes, but about Eve. About what she was going to say. She didn’t know. She thought by taking her to her favourite restaurant (diner?) she’d be more at ease. She’d come to this place after long runs, getting her carb load in. She’d sit in this exact seat. Alone. She didn’t  _ bring  _ people here. She wanted it for herself. Yet here she was, across from Eve. Who had  _ asked  _ her to lunch. It was funny. Kinda.

“So,” Eve started but realized she didn’t know what she was going to say until Villanelle turned to her, hazel meeting brown, “You come here often?” Oh for god’s sake, Eve. 

Villanelle smiled. She had no idea if that was a joke, flirting, or awkwardness. Probably, the latter, knowing Eve. Then again, did she actually  _ know _ Eve? I guess that’s why she’s here. 

“Yes. I come here after long runs. Everything on the menu here has double the carbs than they’re supposed to.” 

Eve found it funny how she said ‘carbs’. Not only how her accent curled around the ‘r’ but it felt… weird? Oksana never really cared about that stuff, and now it was why Villanelle chose restaurants. Yeah, definitely weird.

“Ah, I see,” The professor looked down, pretending to look back at the menu, “Do you like it? Your gym?”

“I love it. It is nice to have something, you know? You have your teaching, your lectures. I have my gym.” The blonde smiled, she really did like what she did. She never talked about it but it felt nice to. Eve felt her genuineness from across the table. 

Just before Eve was about to respond, the hostess showed up again. She was a waitress too?

“Hi, Villanelle. How are ya?” The red-headed waitress/hostess(?) smiled at the blonde. She was older. She could see the woman actually cared about her customers. Eve really needed to stop psychoanalyze strangers.

“I’m doing well, Daria. How’s business?” Villanelle rested her elbows on the table.

“Eh, you know.” The woman shrugged, then turned to Eve. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Eve. She teaches at Imperial.” 

“Hi.” The professor awkwardly waved, cringing at herself internally. 

“Nice to meet you. What can I get started for you pretty ladies?” She looked back at the blonde.

“I will just have my usual,” Villanelle said as she set her menu back by the window, “Eve?” The professor froze for a moment when their eyes met. She looked so stunning, with ehlight hitting her eyes just at this angl- Daria looked back over at the professor, expectantly.

Eve cleared her throat. “I’ll have the same,” Eve stated, with an alarming level of confidence. She had  _ no idea  _ what Villanelle’s ‘usual’ could be, but what the hell, right?

Daria smirked as she wrote their orders down on her notepad. “I’ll be back in a jiffy then.”

Just as quickly Daria walked away, Eve’s newfound confidence left. Now that they were alone again, she had no idea what she could say. Well, there was one thing.

“What’s your usual?” Eve grinned as the two women’s eyes met again.

“That you will just have to wait and see, _professor_ ,” Villanelle smirked, her interest piqued as Eve had asked for her same order.

Eve looked down at her hands and nodded, smiling. She missed the playful nature between them. It was hard to find.

“Do you like what you do?” The blonde asked after a moment, Eve’s head snapping back up. Villanelle was leaning forward, her elbows still resting on the table, her hands clasped together in front of her. Eve couldn’t help but think she looked elegant. Wow, she really needed to stop thinking about how the blonde looked. It _might_ take over her thoughts.

“Hmm?” The professor questioned, slightly taken aback by the question.

“You asked if I liked the gym. Do you like what you do?” 

“Oh yeah, yeah. I love it,” Eve couldn't help but feel the emotion behind the question. She’d been becoming a professor when Oksana left. “Teaching… it’s great. And I love what I teach, so yeah. It’s good.”

Villanelle nodded. “Criminology.” 

Eve stared at her for a moment. There was something in her face. Did she not approve? 

The thing is, Villanelle heavily approved. She just couldn’t help but think of the lecture she sat in. It was hard to listen to, for sure. Something so prevalent and heartbreaking in her childhood being discussed in a  _ criminology  _ class. By Eve, nonetheless. She had memorized almost every word.

“Villanelle,” The professor started, finally figuring out sentences to say in her head, “I want to apologize again. About the lecture.” At that, she could see the blonde’s entire body language change. She sat back, taking her arms and putting them at her sides, fiddling with her dress. Sure, the lecture was a little while ago, but Eve still felt like she needed to apologize. Again.

“I know you don’t like to talk about it but I know that it was definitely hard to hear,” Eve stared down at her own hands, as she mimicked Villanelle’s previous position, leaning forward with her hands clasped on the table, “I just wanted to apologize. If I would’ve known….” She trailed off. What would she have done if she would’ve known the blonde would be sitting in on her lecture?

“You don’t have to apologize, Eve. I understand that…  _ that  _ is what you teach. It’s fine.” Villanelle looks up, doing her best to put on the mask she can put up so easily with other people. Not so easy with Eve, apparently. 

“Yeah, I just mean that… I’m sorry you had to listen to all of it.” 

Villanelle sighed and looked down again. “What my father did or said when I was a child should not affect how you teach your class. After all, it’s a good thing I did sit in. It was probably most helpful to me, or to people like me.” The blonde couldn’t help but feel sad at the statement. She never spent enough time thinking about her child to feel sad, she never felt sad. That was the problem. 

“Hey,” Eve reached out her hand on the table, placing in the blonde’s eyesight, Villanelle instantly looking up at the professor, “I told you then, I’ll tell you now. Nothing is wrong with you, okay?” It was the first time she’d mentioned the past so explicitly to the blonde. She directly referenced a conversation they had 8 years ago. But she realized she had no idea how Villanelle would react to that. To this entire conversation. But, all the blonde could feel was sitting in that dumb café talking to Eve about her childhood, regretting it immediately until the professor had said... 

_ “You know there’s nothing wrong with you, right?” Eve said after a moment, finally meeting with hazel eyes, “You are perfect, just the way you are.” _

“Thank you, Eve.” The professor relaxed internally as she saw Villanelle start to smile and… blush? Was  _ Villanelle _ blushing? Maybe they were getting somewhere, after all.

As if someone had popped their bubble, Daria returned with two  _ huge  _ plates of food. By huge, I don’t mean _slightly_ larger than an average plate. These plates were so large, they basically covered the entire table as the red-head set them down. Eve’s eyebrows raised as she examined the contents of the plate. An… English Breakfast? A lot of surprises today. 

Daria turned for a second and came back and set two glasses of what Eve assumed to be a strawberry milkshake in front of them. Another surprise. 

“Enjoy, ladies.” She said quickly, and then she was gone as fast as she appeared. 

“This is your usual?” Eve could help but chuckle as she started eating the sausage.

“Mmhmm.” Villanelle hummed simply as she started sipping her shake.

“And you eat it all?” 

Villanelle nodded, “Have you heard of glycogen replenishment, Eve?” The blonde started digging at her eggs.

Eve shook her head. She could feel a lesson coming along.

“Well,” Villanelle cleared her throat and looked at the professor, “When you do heavy aerobic exercise, the glycogen -the sugar- stored in your muscles gets depleted. That is why you become so tired after exercise. So you need high-glycemic foods to replenish your muscles.” She waved a piece of white bread in the air and bit into it as Eve was still trying to remember what ‘aerobic’ meant from high school bio class.

“Ah,” The brunette simply said, “Makes sense.” 

How much stalling would there be until they actually  _ talked? _

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Just listening to the sounds coming from outside and the few other patrons in the diner. Eve was already full. She’d barely cleared a third of the plate. Villanelle never stopped. She was putting sausage on bread and adding beans on top. Eve was kind of amazed. But she also needed to do what she came here for.

“Villanelle,” She stated, waiting for the blonde to look at her, which she eventually did, “I came here to talk to you.” 

“Okay… so talk to me.” She smirked, filling her mouth with the bread-sausage-bean combo.

“I… I want to say I’m sorry.” 

“You are doing a lot of apologizing lately, Eve.” 

The professor had to stifle an eye-roll. There were more important things.

“I want to say I’m sorry that I didn’t know how I felt about you 8 years ago.” She saw the blonde stop chewing for a few seconds, furrowed her brow, and continued eating. She could tell she was a little surprised. Villanelle was a little bit, at least. She knew it would come up eventually. She hoped after her meal.

“I also want to explain myself a little bit,” Eve continued, “I was very confused. Obviously. I had a husband and I was so much older and you were really young and just figuring things out. So, I was a little- I was  _ very  _ confused when you came into my life but I… really enjoyed spending time with you. You were… a big part of my life.”

Villanelle froze. These words were… it felt very surreal. Like a dream, she’d had once. Or maybe a nightmare? She couldn’t tell yet. She didn’t know what Eve was trying to say, either. Was she saying that she wanted to go back in time? Or that she wanted to forget everything that had happened? Or just forget _her_ completely? Villanelle had honestly no idea which way it would go. Eve was always hard to read. She used to be good at reading her, though.

“Do you have anything to say… in response to that?” The professor asked, feeling very vulnerable.

“I did not expect that,” The blonde replied honestly as she tried to form a response, “I know now how hard a situation you were in. I was selfish. I still am, but I guess I do understand better.”

Eve nodded. They were silent for a minute. Or was it two? Three?

“I am sorry too.” Villanelle simply stated, shocking even herself.

“I hurt you… by leaving,” The blonde continued, nodding to reassure herself, “And not telling you where I went and just forgetting you existed.”

“You had to do what you had to do. I wish we could’ve talked about it, but I understand that leaving might’ve been the … most appealing option at the time.” Villanelle nodded in response, both of them looking at their plates, still filled with food.

“Konstantin said something to me the other day,” The blonde began, Eve looking up at her, vaguely remembering Konstantin’s name, a person Oksana truly trusted, “That I should treat you like a new person because _I’m_ a new person.” The professor smiled, silently thanking Konstantin.

“That’s a good idea, I think. I have a feeling we are both very different people than we were 8 years ago.” She gestures vaguely to the pink dress Villanelle was wearing, it took up the entire booth around her.

“You said you liked my dress?” The blonde looked hurt.

“No, I do. I do. It’s just… not something Oksana would’ve worn, I guess.” She cursed herself for saying Villanelle’s old name. She can imagine- well, she  _ knew _ the blonde didn’t like it. But, luckily, the younger woman didn’t have a reaction to it.

“I guess,” Villanelle shrugged, smirking, “ _ Old _ Eve wouldn’t have gone to a gym.” She noted, making the brunette howl with laughter. She loved the sound.

“You’re totally right. I don’t even know if  _ New  _ Eve wants to go to a gym but… I do have a membership to one now.” Their eyes finally met, both of them smiling.

It had begun to rain while they were in the small diner… neither of them even noticed as drops of water hit the window. Both of them were staring at each other. And while it was dreadful outside, there seemed to be a light of hope inside Daria’s diner that afternoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u like this chapter. i finally had time to write!  
> i was worried about changing Villanelle's character a little bit, making her a little more... receptive to Eve and talking about the past so plz let me know what u think!!!!  
> i love hearing ur thoughts. 
> 
> take care,
> 
> kira x

**Author's Note:**

> i am working on my other fic right now (feel free to check it out ;)) so be prepared for a lack of consistency with updates on this one. i've only written this chapter so far, so ill need time to write lol. but ill do my best!
> 
> please let me know what you think of this so far in the comments or on twitter (@villanellesgun). i'd really appreciate it <3
> 
> love you all
> 
> kira x


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